New southern California fires destroy homes and prompt evacuations – as it happened
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Hillside fire sparked overnight about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, while the Ronald Reagan library has so far survived a close call with the Easy fire
A car burns in a garage as a home goes up in flames during the Hillside fire in the North Park neighborhood of San Bernardino, California, on Thursday. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
A car burns in a garage as a home goes up in flames during the Hillside fire in the North Park neighborhood of San Bernardino, California, on Thursday. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
No sign of rain in wildfire-ravaged coastal California
Firefighting helicopters have been dumping water on the fires around Los Angeles, but some heaven-sent precipitation would be nice right about now.
Not much chance of that in these tinderbox conditions. Here’s climate scientist Daniel Swain on the prospect of easing winds but precious few raindrops.
After today's continued #SantaAna winds die down in SoCal, CA will finally see a break from recent onslaught of desiccating & wildfire-promoting offshore winds. Some irony: as stable high pressure builds in & temperatures rise, fire risk will decrease somewhat.#CAwx#CAfire (1/2) pic.twitter.com/K5FRnLs03I
What could possibly connect the two? Billy Baldwin (actor bro of Alec).
MAGA said the Nationals would lose the World Series for booing Trump and the California fires were punishment for their ungodly liberal politics.
Wonder how they feel now that the Nationals won and the Easy Fire is burning at the front door of the Reagan Presidential Library? pic.twitter.com/Tw4R6CzfAX
Officials say the wildfire burning in northern California’s wine country, which forced the evacuation of more than 180,000 people, is now 60% contained and has not increased in size since yesterday.
California department of forestry and fire protection officials said a few minutes ago that firefighting crews working through the night increased their control of the fire from the previous estimate of 45% containment late Wednesday, the AP reports.
The fire started last week near the town of Geyserville in Sonoma county, north of San Francisco, and has scorched about 120 square miles, destroying 141 homes and threatening 90,000 structures. Most of those evacuated after the fire started last week have been now allowed to return home.
Here’s California Senator and 2020 Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Incredibly thankful for our brave first responders and firefighters who are putting their lives on the line to battle these blazes and save our communities.pic.twitter.com/iHdPXvIh5W
The wind-driven wildfire fire in San Bernardino, southern California, meanwhile, which broke out just hours ago, has destroyed or damaged six homes so far.
San Bernardino county fire chief Don Trapp says about 500 homes have been evacuated since the fire started in foothills before dawn. The strong, dry seasonal easterly winds drove it down into the city.
In the nearby city of Jurupa Valley, an early morning blaze has grown to 150 acres.
Fires are burning or smoldering to the west, northwest and east of the Los Angeles metropolis with the risk of new blazes sparking remaining extremely high this hour.
Two fires east of Los Angeles, others still burning or smoldering
The Hillside fire in San Bernardino has so far forced the evacuation of 490 homes and approximately 1,300 people, with the fire at 200 acres and growing.
In neighboring Riverside county, evacuation orders were issued for homes around a 75-acre fire in the city of Jurupa Valley, the AP reports.
Three residences and two outbuildings were confirmed destroyed by the county’s fire department. That fire came after another fire Wednesday in Jurupa Valley forced the evacuation of two mobile home parks and a psychiatric nursing care facility, before the spread was stopped.
“There was one moment when I could see nothing but dark smoke and I was like, ‘We’re going to die,’” said Qiana McCracken, the assistant director of nursing for the Riverside Heights Healthcare Center.
After the Easy fire broke out early Wednesday near Simi Valley, northwest of LA, 30,000 people had to evacuate, although some were allowed home last night.
Crews remained at the scene, near the undamaged Reagan presidential library, which is now like an island in a soot-black sea, spokeswoman Melissa Giller said.
Nearby residents had little time to heed evacuation orders yesterday.
Resident Elena Mishkanian was able to gather only some basics. Her son, Troy, 13, netted six pet fish from a tank and put them in pots.
Frightened horses screamed in a nearby barn as Beth Rivera used a garden hose to water down the edges of her home, and friends helped evacuate 11 horses.
The utility Southern California Edison filed a report with state regulators to say the Easy fire began near its power lines. Electrical equipment has sparked some of California’s worst wildfires. SoCal Edison has so far not cut power in the area.
Pacific Gas & Electric, cut power to millions in northern California in the last week, but damaged power lines may still have started the Kincade fire in Sonoma county.
The latest report this morning is that the Kincade fire is now 45% contained.
Zoomed out. This undated handout image courtesy of NASA and taken by astronaut Andrew Morgan aboard the International Space Station, shows smoke from the Kincade fire in Sonoma county, northern California. San Francisco is to the left. The Kincade fire has damaged 120 square miles. Photograph: Andrew Morgan/NASA/AFP via Getty Images
Second new wildfire breaks out east of Los Angeles
While the new Hillside fire is burning in a northern part of San Bernardino, there is also a fire now burning less than 20 miles away in Jurupa Valley, in Riverside county.
There was a fire in Jurupa Valley yesterday but now another one has broken out, the Associated Press indicates. This is all happening 50 to 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, in southern California.
You can check out all the Guardian’s coverage, with news reports, live blogs and comment pieces from the last few days and beyond, by clicking on our California page and taking your pick of stories from our ace reporters on the spot out west as well as top opinion-formers and experts such as Rebecca Solnit and Bill McKibben, discussing issues such as the habitability of the state and the unavoidable role of the climate crisis in the worsening wildfire events.
We have both a local and a zoomed out approach, depending on the piece, for our readers in the area, elsewhere in the US and across the globe.
The Santa Ana winds have been peaking in this 48-hour period and hopefully will tail off tonight.
“This is the last event in our near future. We are not expecting any Santa Anas next week,” weather service meteorologist Kristen Stewart told the Associated Press. But she noted the forecast only extends out seven days. “Once we get past that, all bets are off.”
A resident named Doug Mac watches as flames from the Hillside fire consumed a residence in San Bernardino, California earlier today. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP
The National Weather Service warns that southern California is still at an extreme risk of fires starting and spreading all day today and into the evening.
The fire that broke out in a northern section of San Bernardino overnight is said to be spreading rapidly. Here is some citizen footage from the early hours.
This should melt the hardest heart. There appears to be some indecision on social media about whether this is a male or female horse galloping and neighing anxiously as it goes back towards danger to, apparently, guide its family to safety from the Easy fire near Simi Valley, California, yesterday.
No matter, it’s an incredible clip. This is a big ranching area, so many horses have been affected by the fire.
The latest news from the Hillside fire in San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, is that it is burning fiercely, sparked by fast and powerful Santa Ana winds whipping up early this morning.
The local media outlet, the San Bernardino Sun, reports:
New wildfire ignites east of Los Angeles overnight
Good Morning, wildfire watchers. It’s a hellish Halloween for more than 20 million Californians affected by blazes that, at varying levels, continue to burn out of control.
We’ll be watching events throughout the day as the tinderbox situation unfolds, with the strongest Santa Ana winds in a decade likely still around peak strength until the evening in southern California.
Here’s where things stand. There have been no direct fire fatalities so far:
Another new brushfire sparked overnight. This one in San Bernardino, a city of just over 200,000 people located around 60 miles east of Los Angeles. It’s been dubbed the Hillside fire. It broke out near Waterman Canyon at the northern end of town in the early hours.
The San Bernardino Police Department has announced the opening of a temporary shelter at the Pacific High School, asking on Twitter for people evacuating from the path of the fire to report to the gymnasium.
The Easy fire that began burning early Wednesday near Simi Valley, north-west of LA, came within about 50 feet of the Ronald Reagan presidential library, but the building has so far emerged unscathed.
LA area is being gradually ringed by fires, what with the new Hillside fire, the Easy fire, the Getty fire that began on Monday to the west of the metropolis, near the Getty art museum, and last week the Santa Clarita Valley to the north was burning with the Tick fire.
In northern California wine country, firefighters have made headway against the largest fire that has been burning in the state - the Kincade fire in Sonoma county. It was reported 30% contained late Wednesday and is now burning into its seventh day. It was only 5% contained a couple days ago. The fire has destroyed 189 houses and 76,000 acres.
