Even with at least 500 fire personnel working together, the raging fire in Northern California has been contained for only a little bit, fire officials said.
Dubbed as Kincade Fire, it is still unknown how many houses and other structures it had burnt, according to California Fire Commander Mike Parkes.
The wildfire started on Wednesday night and because of the high winds, it rapidly incinerated at least 5,000 acres within three hours, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Juan Valencia. As of Thursday morning, it had consumed at least 10,000 acres and forced hundreds to evacuate.
The fire is expected to grow bigger even if the wind had died down, Parkes said. On Thursday, it already moved through Geyserville, California, located at least 80 miles north of San Francisco.
Where did Kincade Fire start?
Parkes claimed that the fire possibly started on the boundary of the Geysers geothermal plant in Geyserville. The winds traveling at least 60mph assisted in spreading it. "It peaked to 76 mph as the blaze spread out," the National Weather Service said.
According to Calpine Vice President of External Affairs Brett Kerr, the company that operates the plant already shut down it down before the fire even started.
According to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, the wind will die down on Thursday, but might return on Sunday.
Evacuation order
Evacuation orders were issued to at least 2,000 residents. Among the communities that received this order is the entirety of Geyserville. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office asked everyone in that community to vacate the area on Thursday.
Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick also asked the residents near Healdsburg to prepare to flee once notice has been issued to them. The order is not just for the citizen's safety but also to make containing the fire easier since the personnel can just focus on the fire instead of rescuing people too, the Sheriff added.
Power outage again?
During the night the fire started, the state is under intentional power cuts. This is to prevent the equipment from sparking due to high winds, claimed Pacific Gas & Electric, the largest electric supplier of California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom previously criticized PG&E during the Saddleridge Fire crisis earlier this month. According to him, such action can be prevented if the company chose to upgrade its facility. He even called them greedy for prioritizing profit over public safety.
Southern California Edison, another power supplier in California, also shut down its power in Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. At least 15,000 customers were affected.
Some customers in Descanso and Alpine in the south also experienced power outage after San Diego Gas & Electric shut off the power due to "high winds and dangerous weather conditions."