Hurricane-force winds continue to stoke the more than 20 Southern California wildfires – CNN, CNN

A few staff stayed behind to protect what they can.

Heavy winds “are a major concern to us,” Ventura County Fire Capt. Brian McGrath told CNN affiliate KABC.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the state had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help fight the Easy Fire. The grant allows affected local and state and agencies to apply for a 75% reimbursement of eligible fire suppression costs.

Power companies may be responsible for fires

The Simi Valley wildfire started near a Southern California Edison sub-transmission line, the power company said, adding that it has filed a report with the state Public Utilities Commission.

“SCE is conducting a review into the circumstances surrounding the fire, and will cooperate with all investigations into the origin and cause of the fire,” the company said in a statement.

The company said Tuesday that its equipment likelyalso contributed to the Woolsey Firein November of last year. The fire became one of the most destructive in the state, according to Cal Fire, killing three people and destroying more than 1, 600 structures.

In Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) filed three reports with the California Public Utility Commission Wednesday indicating that their equipment may be involved in the start of three fires, according to officials.

Bill Johnson, CEO and President of PG&E Corporation, told media the company has contacted the state about reports of videos possibly showing sparking powerlines at the Bethel Island and Oakley fires .

A third report was then filed linking its equipment to a fire in Milpitas, California.

“Troublemen observed wire down. They observed two houses, two cars, and a shed damaged by the fire. An on-site Milpitas Fire Department Investigator informed the troubleman that he was looking at the downed wire as a potential ignition source and collected a portion of the conductor into evidence, “PG&E said in a statement to CNN.

PG&E has been under scrutiny in recent years for the role its equipment played in several devastating fires across the state, includinglast year deadly Camp Fire, which killed 85 people. Over the last weeks, the utility has been enacting preventative shutoffs all over northern and central California.

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‘We’re ready to go and say goodbye to our home’

Brigitte Kouba Neves, a Los Angeles native, says her heart stopped when her neighbor knocked on her door early Monday and told her they were in the evacuation zone.

“I can’t explain the feeling of packing a bag with the items I want to save from a fire,” she saidin an Instagram postdescribing how she and her husband chose daily essentials and their wedding album.

Neves lives in a voluntary evacuation zone. So far, she’s been safe, but that could change at any moment.

“Currently, we have our suitcases by the door, the car is packed, and we ‘re ready to go and say goodbye to our home if they say we must, “she wrote. But she told CNN what’s it’s like to live under constant threat and worry.

“I have 3-year-old twins with sensitive lungs, so school has been canceled a lot, they’ve had to wear masks, and we’ve discussed the fact that there are fires far away … and it changes air quality, “she said. “We’ve let them role play with their firefighter outfits and trucks.”

California’s biggest fire is far from contained

North of the San Francisco Bay,the week-old Kincade Fire– the state’s largest active wildfire – has destroyed nearly 77, 000 acres across Sonoma County and more than 260 structures, including more than 130 single-family homes, officials said.

The Kincade Fire started October 23, but the cause is still under investigation.

The good news: Forecasters say winds will weaken through Thursday, and more residents can go home.

About 2, 400 people from the 186, 000 under evacuation orders had returned to their homes as of Tuesday night, Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said.

“Many of these people are still returning to homes that are without power because of thePG&E power shutoff,“he said. “So we want people to be vigilant, be aware communication may not be great.”