New brush fire erupts north of Los Angeles

FAN Editor
Homes burned as new fires errupt in California

Latest updates:

  • Kincade Fire in Northern California: 76,825 acres burned; 60% contained
  • Easy Fire in Southern California: 1,723 acres burned; 10% contained
  • Getty Fire in Southern California: 745 acres burned; 39% contained
  • 46 Fire in Southern California: 300 acres burned; 15% contained
  • Hillside Fire in Southern California: 200 acres burned; 50% contained
  • About 53,000 homes and businesses are still affected by Pacific Gas & Electric’s power shutoff after it cut electricity to millions of people in an effort to prevent new blazes

A new brush fire erupted north of Los Angeles Thursday night. Firefighters raced to battle the Maria Fire, which began at approximately 6:30 p.m. PT, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Earlier in the day, two fast-moving wildfires exploded in Southern California, fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds. One of the blazes, the Hillside Fire in San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles, prompted mandatory evacuations and destroyed at least six homes. Flames engulfed one home as neighbors looked on, CBS News correspondent Chris Martinez reports.

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“I managed to put the hillside out around my backyard and keep my house from burning,” one man said. “I feel bad that others weren’t able to do that, you know?”

Some residents refused to leave. “That’s kinda the only reason we stayed, my son and my brother and I, just to fight it,” another man said. “… We did get the palm trees out, but once the roof caught on fire it was just too much to control.”

The 46 Fire in neighboring Riverside County has burned at least five buildings. Investigators said the fire was most likely sparked by a police chase, when a stolen car crashed into two fences and its bare metal rims sparked a blaze. The two suspected car thieves have been arrested and charged with arson. All evacuation orders related to the 46 Fire were lifted Thursday night, according to Cal Fire Riverside.

Crews faced a major battle Wednesday in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles, as they took on another blaze: the Easy Fire. The flames came dangerously close to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and nearby neighborhoods.

About 30,000 people were forced to evacuate. The National Weather Service said the dangerous red flag conditions in Southern California would remain through Thursday evening.

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A firefighter sprays down the smoldering remains of a burning home during the Hillside Fire in the North Park neighborhood of San Bernardino, California, on October 31, 2019.
A firefighter sprays down the smoldering remains of a burning home during the Hillside Fire in the North Park neighborhood of San Bernardino, California, on October 31, 2019. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

New brush fire erupts north of Los Angeles

A new brush fire erupted in Southern California Thursday night, CBS Los Angeles reports. The Maria Fire is located on the top of South Mountain near Santa Paula, an hour north of Los Angeles.

Firefighters responded to the blaze just after 6:30 p.m. PT. Evacuations were ordered for homes near the south end of the fire.

“We only had seconds to get out”

California wildfires rage, fueled by forceful wind gusts

More than 700 firefighters were fighting the Easy Fire Thursday. The fire ignited just before dawn Wednesday, and flames raged into the night, fueled by wind gusts up to 70 mph, CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reports.

It quickly consumed a barn, where volunteers helped rescue animals trapped inside. One horse even seemed to turn back to lead other horses to safety.

Despite an all-out assault, flames still managed to jump a freeway, forcing a nearby neighborhood to evacuate. “We put everything in the car, and I’m so glad we did, ” said Frank Rahimi of Moorpark, “because by the time it jumped the 23 Freeway, we only had seconds to get out.”

“Significant progress” made on Kincade Fire

Firefighters in Northern California made “pretty significant progress” battling the Kincade blaze, Cal Fire representative Jonathan Cox said Wednesday.

A red flag warning for the region has ended, and the winds have subsided “quite a bit,” according to a representative from the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to plunge to the high 20s overnight.

More than 5,000 people remain under evacuation orders. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said 10 people were arrested Wednesday for illegally entering evacuation zones.

Spot fire pops up next to fire engine as crews battle blaze

Crews in Southern California battled numerous fires Wednesday. The winds were powerful enough to knock over big rigs along an interstate, yet vigilant firefighters kept spot fires from exploding.

While CBS News correspondent Carter Evans was talking to Ventura County Fire Captain Anthony Romero, a spot fire popped up right next to a fire engine. “Just like that,” Romero said. “What you got to maintain, for us, is just constant awareness that the fire is going to keep moving. We want to maintain our vigilance just because it is an active firefight.”

California wildfires rage, fueled by forceful wind gusts

Fire officials cite PG&E equipment as cause of 2 fires in Northern California

Fire officials announced Wednesday they identified PG&E equipment as the cause of two fires in eastern Contra Costa County over the weekend, which led to a number of evacuations in Northern California.

The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District said firefighters sent to a vegetation fire in Bethel Island early Sunday found a rapidly expanding, wind-driven fire that had burned an area the size of a football field.

Fire investigators determined the area of origin was under PG&E power lines, obtaining video that showed a transformer casting sparks onto the vegetation below, the fire district said. The fire forced evacuations from a nearby mobile home park.

As the fire was being brought under control, a second fire was reported about 2.5 miles away in Oakley. The fire district said the reporting party indicated another PG&E equipment malfunction, and investigators confirmed a transformer failure which showered sparks and ignited vegetation.

PG&E said Wednesday it didn’t have enough information to officially comment on those two fires and said “it’s too soon to tell” if its equipment was to blame.

California wildfires map

About a dozen wildfires were burning throughout California as of Wednesday.

California wildfires map 2019
CBS

“This will only get worse in the future”

A recent study published in Earth’s Future suggests that the increasing size of wildfires occurring across California in the last 50 years is attributable to climate change drying out the landscape.

“Since the early 1970s, California’s annual wildfire extent increased fivefold, punctuated by extremely large and destructive wildfires in 2017 and 2018,” the researchers wrote. “This trend was mainly due to an eightfold increase in summertime forest-fire area and was very likely driven by drying of fuels promoted by human-induced warming.”

Over the past decade, average temperatures there have risen over 2 degrees Fahrenheit, but the moisture deficit — the difference between the amount of water actually in the atmosphere and the amount of water it can hold — has not caught up. Lower relative humidity causes brush to dry out faster, creating more kindling to burn when a fire starts.

“It’s not likely to get better as we continue to warm the climate,” CBS News climate and weather contributor Jeff Berardelli said. “This will only get worse in the future.”

Warmer, drier climate “a tipping point” for California wildfires

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