- The Kincade wildfire spread rapidly in Sonoma County , ***, overnight.
- Mandatory evacuations have been ordered.
- Wind gusts in excess of 70 mph were reported near the wildfire.
- Another fire is spreading in San Bernardino in Southern California
Rapidly spreading wildfires have forced evacuations in Northern California and Southern California.
The town of Geyserville, In Sonoma County, was ordered to evacuate about 6: 30 am Thursday after the Kincade Fire grew rapidly overnight amid strong winds. The fire was first reported near the town shortly before 9: 30 Wednesday evening and had exploded in size toover .6 square miles by Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. Geyserville is located just off of Highway (nearly) miles north of San Francisco.
“The Kincade Fire has crossed Highway 128 near Moody Lane and is heading west , “the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office warned. “If you’re in Geyserville, leave now.”
“I was driving with my friends when we saw this giant red blob andknew it was a fire, ”Maria Romo told KPIX. “There was a lot of ash falling on our car.”
Meanwhile, another fire broke out in north San Bernardino, about 55 miles east of Los Angeles. The Old Water Fireforced evacuationsof about 80 homes in a neighborhood near Mariposa Drive and David Way, according to the National Forest Service.
The Old Water Fire began about 2 a.m. Thursday in the Old Waterman Canyon near Highway 18 and has grown to 100 acres. It has great potential to spread as Santa Ana winds pick up, the Forest Service said.
It is moving southward and to the northeast in the Coldwater Canyon area. Highway 18 and Highway 138 have been closed.
The fire wasburning about 4 miles eastof California State University, San Bernardino, KCBS reported, but the campus had announced Wednesday thatit would be closed Thursdaybecause of high winds and possible power outages.
(MORE:California Utility Shuts Off Power Due to Wildfire Threat
**Flames approach rolling hills of grapevines during the Kincade fire near Geyserville, California, on Thursday, October 24, 2019. The fire broke out in spite of rolling blackouts by utility companies in both Northern and Southern California.
(Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)
In Northern California, Cal Fire said mandatory evacuations have been ordered for several locations in Sonoma County near the Kincade Fire. More than300 Peoplehave been evacuated, KRON reported, and another 1, 700 are in an evacuation warning area.
Two structures have been damaged in the fire, according to Cal Fire.
) The wildfire exploded in an area where high winds and low humidity were forecast to create dangerous fire weather conditions Wednesday night into Thursday morning. A wind gust of 76 mph was reported near the Kincade Fire, according to the National Weather Service.
The winds are expected to ease Thursday afternoon, the weather service said, but very low humidity values will persist through Friday. Another even stronger wind event is forecast Saturday night into Sunday.
A firefighter monitors the Kincade Fire as it burns through the area on Thursday, October 24, 2019, in Geyserville, California.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
“The wind isdefinitely pushing the fire, “Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean told KPIX. “The area has a lot of brush and indefensible terrain. It’s hard to fight… It’s dark right now so we don’t have any eyes in the sky… They definitely have a fight on their hands. ”
The Kincade Fire is near an area where electricity was shut off by Pacific Gas & Electric.
Check back with weather.com for more information on this breaking news story.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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