Evacuation orders have been lifted as firefighters in Santa Clarita remain to contain the recent 4,615-acre fire in the county. This is the most recent report that came along with the news that the county is also preparing for yet another bout of Santa Ana Winds on Sunday evening.
The Tick Fire containment was estimated to be at 65 percent by Sunday morning, following the recent order to evacuate tens of thousands of homeowners in the area when the blaze broke out last week. Most of the mandatory evacuation orders were lifted over the weekend, except for those from Tick Canyon's Abelia Road to Summit Knoll Road.
October 27, 2019 - A deserted street is seen during the wind-driven Kincade Fire in Windsor, California, U.S. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
Officials advised returning residents to watch out for any risks that could exist - such as damaged utilities, ash, and other harmful materials from paint, batteries, and cleaning supplies.
Many of those residents opted to leave their bags emptied if another round of evacuations would be issued if the same dangerous red flag conditions are expected to return Sunday evening into Monday.
"We are not ready for [any more] evacuations. There's not much you can do to [prepare] for the winds. I have a bag ready to go just in case, but that's it," a Canyon Country resident said.
More than 40 structures were damage and an additional 10,000 homes and establishments were threatened by fires.
California Governor declared a state of emergency
Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency as multiple fires, including the recent Kincade Fire, raze different areas within the state.
Officials were investigating where the fire may have started as the fire crew deployed on the ground continue to monitor the hot spots. A small community in Santa Clarita likewise teamed up to take the firefight into their own hands as one of several fires strain the first group of responders.
The College of the Canyons Gymnasium in Santa Clarita currently serves as an evacuation center for the residents. Animals were brought to the Castaic Animal Care Center in Charlie Canyon Road.
Airbnb hosts offer free housing to fire evacuees, relief workers in the area
Meanwhile, Airbnb hosts also offered free housing to fire evacuees and relief workers deployed in the area. More than 500 Airbnb hosts participated in the initiative. Their offer of free housing will be available for the evacuees until November 7.
The popular rental platform has set up a page on its website with a map that shows areas within Santa Barbara County and extending to Riverside County and into Orange County in the south, where several Airbnb hosts offered their homes for free to eligible guests.
Two hospitals relocated hundreds of patients
Two hospitals located within the mandatory evacuation zone in Northern California also temporarily suspended their operations and relocated their patients to other facilities early on Sunday.
The Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Rosa had evacuated 110 patients to its partner hospitals in Northern California. Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital also transferred about 100 patients to several nearby facilities that are still outside the evacuation zone.
In a statement, Amy Thoma Tan, spokeswoman for the Sutter hospital, said their hospital mainly prioritized the safety of their patients, employees and clinicians.
Tom Hanenburg, Kaiser Permanente hospital's chief operating officer (COO), mentioned that their hospitals were equipped with emergency generators. He also added that their hospital in Santa Rosa had prepared an evacuation plan when the mandatory evacuation was ordered fon Sunday.
The hospital evacuations were nostalgic of the Santa Rosa incident in 2017, when nurses at the Kaiser Permanente hospital wheeled patients to waiting ambulances as flames raged only a few hundred feet away. Some nurses who helped with that evacuation lost their own houses in the destructive wildfires that hit the county last year.
However, a large portion of the evacuated residents due to the 4,615-acre brush fire in Canyon Country and Santa Clarita were allowed to return home over the weekend, though firefighters continued on their efforts to increase containment of the blaze on Saturday.
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