50,000 residents to be evacuated as California wildfire rages on

The Soda Rock Winery burns as flames race through Healdsburg. Pic/AFP

Los Angeles: Evacuation orders were issued on Saturday morning for 50,000 residents for the entire towns of Healdsburg and Windsor in northern California, as the growing Kincade Fire is expected to move there.

According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the wild fire ignited on Wednesday night exploded very fast, scorching over 25,455 acre (103 square km) by Saturday morning with only 10 per cent containment, the Xinhua news agency reported. The blaze destroyed 49 structures and is now threatening thousands of homes, the Cal Fire said, there is no report of fatalities.

Complete blackout

More than two million experienced mass power outages across California as massive wildfires have continued to surge. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) initiated the precautionary blackout on Saturday due to forecasts of extreme winds, which it said could damage facilities and cause new fires, the BBC reported. PG&E said the power cuts would affect 940,000 households and businesses across 36 counties in northern California - hitting about two million people.

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