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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Sam Levin in Los Angeles

California wildfires: 100,000 evacuated in the south as power returns to north – as it happened

A firefighter sprays water in front of an advancing wildfire on Friday in Porter Ranch, California.
A firefighter sprays water in front of an advancing wildfire on Friday in Porter Ranch, California. Photograph: Marcio José Sánchez/AP

Summary

We’re ending our live coverage for the day. Here’s a recap of what happened and where things stand:

  • Southern California Edison turned off electricity to about 20,000 people in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Kern counties but warned that thousands more could lose service as Santa Ana winds gained strength.
  • The Saddleridge fire, which started in Sylmar, had consumed more than 7,500 acres by 5pm local time Friday, prompting California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, to declare a state of emergency.
  • Officials said a middle-aged man died near where the fire was burning after he went into cardiac arrest, and that a firefighter suffered an eye injury.
  • Authorities also ordered mandatory evacuations of about 100,000 people in the Granada Hills, Porter Ranch and Oakridge Estates neighborhoods.
  • A juvenile prison located directly next to the massive Saddleridge fire took more than five hours to evacuate in the middle of the night, sparking some criticisms and concerns from advocates.
  • A blaze also ripped through a mobile home park in Calimesa, a city about 65 miles (104km) east of Los Angeles, destroying dozens of residences.
  • An 89-year-old woman, Lois Arvickson, died while on the phone with her son.
  • Red flag fire warnings are expected to continue in southern California through Saturday.
  • In northern California, PG&E started restoring power to some of the communities that were cut off on Wednesday and Thursday.
  • PG&E suggested it was already seeing the wisdom of its decision borne out as gusts topping 77mph (122km/h) raked the San Francisco Bay Area amid a bout of dry, windy weather.
  • Northern California fire officials say a man dependent on oxygen died roughly 12 minutes after PG&E shut down power to the area.

Juvenile prison took more than five hours to evacuate

A juvenile prison located directly next to the massive Saddleridge fire took more than five hours to evacuate in the middle of the night, sparking some criticisms and concerns from advocates.

Barry J Nidorf juvenile hall in Sylmar, which incarcerates teenagers, was so close to the fire that embers appeared to be hitting the facility, said Kerri Webb, a spokesperson. The first evacuations began at around 10:30pm on Thursday and were not finished until about 4am Friday, she said. A total of 278 juvenile prisoners and 56 staff members were evacuated to Los Padrinos juvenile hall about 40 miles south.

“It takes very, very long to get that methodically done,” Webb said, saying “security” concerns dictate how they transport people. She said the youth in the facility are generally ages 15 to 19 and are “high risk” and “high need”, adding, “At the end of the day, they are kids. So they were scared. The fire was right there.”

Kim McGill, an organizer with the Youth Justice Coalition, an organization that works with families of the incarcerated youth, told the Guardian that parents were were worried and struggling to get information as the fire spread.

“There’s just not the same urgency when people are locked up. It seems county officials aren’t thinking about the safety of the people inside,” she said. “These families want to feel that they are just as important.”

Watching the news of the fire unfold, McGill said it felt like “people’s property and horses were given more concern” than the incarcerated youth.

She said the facility’s response this year seemed improved from previous years, but that there was a broader problem in California of a lack of clear plans to evacuate imprisoned people in a timely manner and promptly notify loved ones. “It’s a lack of concern or even altogether forgetting of the hundreds of thousands of people detained in prisons and jails and juvenile halls.”

In an email sent to families, the Youth Justice Coalition said:

We continue to be concerned that County Probation Department, Sheriffs Department and State Prison officials have no or inadequate fire safety plans, evacuation resources and family notification measures in place, despite the fact that California is the region of the nation that experiences the most fires as well as the highest levels of respiratory illness.

Webb said parents and guardians were notified of the transfer by around noon on Friday, adding that the facility followed its protocols and worked with fire officials: “It was done very cautiously with a lot of security, with safety in mind 100% of the time ... I know people think that’s slow, but that was fast.”

Asked if there was a way the evacuations could have gone faster, she said if the staff couldn’t get the youth out in time, the worst case scenario would involve them sheltering in place with the fire department forming a shield around the facility. She said it did not appear that there was ultimately damage.

Governor declares state of emergency in southern California

Governor Gavin Newsom has just declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Riverside counties due to the fires. From his office:

Newsom today issued an emergency proclamation for Los Angeles and Riverside counties due to the effects of several fires, including the Saddleridge, Eagle, Sandalwood, Reche, and Wolf fires, which have destroyed structures, threatened homes and critical infrastructure, and caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

Earlier today, Newsom announced that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the Saddleridge Fire.

El Sereno fire grows

The El Sereno fire, which ignited earlier today in LA, has doubled in size in about an hour-long period – from 20 acres to 40 acres:

The fire department says crews have “fully surrounded” it and that authorities are continuing to do water drops. No injuries or damaged structures have been reported. It’s a good reminder of how precarious the situation remains:

Video from earlier this afternoon:

In southern California, some residents are now returning to their homes to assess the destruction and damage. Some dramatic scenes from journalists on the ground:

A resident surveys the scorched remains of her home and vehicle after the Saddleridge fire burned through Granada Hills.
A resident surveys the scorched remains of her home and vehicle after the Saddleridge fire burned through Granada Hills. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP
Eyed Jarjour, left, comforts a neighbor who lost her Jolette Ave. home to the Saddleridge fire (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Eyed Jarjour, left, comforts a neighbor who lost her Jolette Ave. home to the Saddleridge fire (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Power outages could cost region more than $2bn

PG&E’s decision to shut off the power on nearly 2m customers across three dozen California counties could cost the region more than $2bn, according to some financial experts. My colleague Mario Koran reports:

But the precautionary outage created its own dilemmas, closing schools, shutting down traffic lights and leaving hospitals to rely on generators. Economic impact will probably be felt across business sectors, including restaurants, transportation and grocery stores.

Insurance for stores like supermarkets doesn’t typically cover planned power outages, only outages caused by natural disasters like earthquakes, Ronald Fong, CEO of the California Grocers Association, told the AP. The stores will have to eat those costs.

Portions of wine country north of San Francisco, torched by wildfires in 2017, stayed dark for most of the day Wednesday and Thursday. The county’s economic development board is preparing to study the local costs of the shutdown and will send out a survey to area businesses once power is restored.

“There’s not a lot of precedent for how to calculate the impact,” said Lauren Cartwright, a board spokesperson.

Read the full story here:

Fire victim identified as Lois Arvickson, 89

Lois Arvickson, 89, died in the Sandalwood fire in Riverside County, according to the LA Times:

Arvickson was reportedly on the phone with her son when the flames arrived at the mobile park where she lived. That fire was started by burning trash and swept through a mobile park home, causing significant damage.

Officials said earlier today that remains were found inside one of the mobile homes, and that there were two people still missing who lived at the park, according to the Times. Fire authorities also said they were working with arson investigators and a homicide unit to determine if criminal charges were warranted in the death.

The fire destroyed more than 70 homes and buildings.

Another fire growing in Los Angeles

There are now reports of another brush fire in southern California in El Sereno, about 25 miles southeast of the Sylmar fire:

This new fire has grown to about 20 acres

Responders are working to stop the fire from hitting threatened homes with water-dropping helicopters. This fire began around 11:30am local time. From the LA fire department:

Man dependent on oxygen dies after PG&E shutdown

Northern California fire officials say a man dependent on oxygen died roughly 12 minutes after PG&E shut down power to the area, the AP reports.

El Dorado county’s fire chief, Lloyd Ogan, said fire personnel responded to a call in Pollock Pines that came in after 3:30am Wednesday. He said crews arrived to find an unresponsive man in his 60s and were unable to revive him.

Ogan said the man’s oxygen equipment required power, but could not say whether the shutdown was related to his death. A PG&E spokesperson told the AP the utility has not been able to confirm the accuracy of the report. I’ve also asked for comment and will update if I hear back.

Here’s an earlier piece from my colleague Vivian Ho about possible impacts on medically vulnerable people:

Sylmar fire now at 7,500 acres

In southern California, officials at a press briefing just said the Sylmar fire had spread to 7,500 acres and was 13% contained. Roughly 25 homes have suffered severe impacts and damage. There are still 100,000 people under evacuation orders.

An LA fire department official said that while it appeared there was a “lull in activity” people should not be “fooled”:

There’s a lot of potential for growth in this fire. It’s going to be a number of days.

Some scenes on the ground:

More harrowing stories of frantic escapes are emerging in the southern California fires:

After backlash, PG&E says it won't hold winery parties anymore

A PG&E spokesperson has just sent me this statement about the SF Chronicle’s report revealing that executives were wining and dining in Sonoma county as the utility was planning to shut down power for millions of people:

PG&E held an event on Tuesday in Sonoma County to recognize large gas customers who help provide stability to the gas transmission system and access to gas supply markets. The annual event has been held for over twenty years. Approximately 60 people attended including a handful of PG&E gas representatives. To be clear, our Corporation and Utility CEOs did not attend the event and were in the company’s emergency operations center leading the effort around the Public Safety Power Shutoff underway.

While the event was planned for about a year, we sincerely apologize for the insensitivity of the timing and location of the event, given the two-year milestone of the 2017 North Bay wildfires. Moving forward, we will no longer hold these types of events. We can never forget these tragic events, which profoundly affected our customers and all Californians.

The event was funded by shareholders, and did not come from customer dollars, according to the statement.

PG&E is facing widespread scrutiny for its decision to shut down power to millions, with critics saying the utility has failed at their maintenance obligations and was not adequately prepared for this predictable crisis.

In southern California, winds are expected to diminish later this afternoon, but meteorologists say they could still be strong enough to continue the spread of the Saddleridge fire and others:

Meanwhile, the LA department of water and power says it has restored power to nearly all of its customers in Granada Hills affected by the fire. The utility says 21 customers remain without power due to fire-related damage:

PG&E says power restored to 74% of customers

PG&E now says that power has been restored to roughly 74% of customers impacted by the shutoffs:

Some specifics on the latest numbers of those restored”

  • Alameda County: 86%
  • Contra Costa County: 95%
  • Marin County: 80%
  • Napa County: 75%
  • San Mateo County: 86%
  • Santa Clara: 94%
  • Solano County: 96%
  • Sonoma County: 78%

PG&E has said that crews need to inspect equipment and lines before power is restored and that in some cases that process could take multiple days.

Videos of the Sylmar fire spreading in southern California

A few videos of the fire devastation in southern California from people on the ground:

PG&E apologizes for executive winery trip just before mass power outages

PG&E executives were wining and dining on the company’s dime in Sonoma county as the utility was planning to shut down power for millions of people across California, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting:

Roughly a dozen employees from PG&E’s gas side of the business mingled with 50 to 60 top customers at a winery on Monday and Tuesday, according to thew newspaper. The trip to the winery also came two years after PG&E poles ignited deadly and devastating wildfires in that exact region of wine country.

Here’s what Bill Johnson, CEO of the utility’s parent company, told the Chronicle:

I want to apologize to every one of our customers. Insensitive, inappropriate, tone deaf are the terms I would use to describe this.

Johnson also told the reporter he was not aware the event was happening and would have stopped it if he had known.

I just reached out to PG&E to see if they have any additional comment and will update if I hear back.

Updated

New evacuation center opened in Saddleridge fire

For those displaced by the Saddleridge fire in northern LA, a fifth evacuation center has opened:

Info on the centers, from the fire department:

  • NEW and OPEN for arrivals: Lanark Recreation Center (21816 Lanark St)
  • FULL: Sylmar Recreation Center (13109 Borden Ave)
  • FULL: Northridge Recreation Center (18300 Lemarsh St)
  • FULL: Granada Hills Recreation Center is now full and not able to accept any more residents.
  • FULL: Mason Park (10,500 Mason Ave)

For large animals:

  • Hansen Dam (11770 Foothill Blvd)
  • NEW: Pierce College (6201 Winnetka Ave)
  • If you need help with the evacuation of large animals, contact East Valley Animal Shelter 818-756-9323

Second death reported in southern California fires

Officials in southern California have reported a second death linked to the wildfires.

A person was killed when a fire swept through a mobile home park in Riverside county east of Los Angeles, Cal Fire spokeswoman Cathey Mattingly told the AP. Mattingly said there were also some injuries, but details of the severity were unclear. There were also few details about the individual who died.

The Riverside county fire was estimated to be about 823 acres (333 hectares) and 10% contained this morning.

In LA at a separate fire, a man went into cardiac arrest and died.

'I stopped breathing': medically vulnerable hit hard by power cuts

In northern California, the impacts of the controversial Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) power cuts are being disproportionately borne by those who are physically vulnerable, my colleague Vivian Ho reports:

Deanne Mediati learned of northern California’s massive power shutoff when her husband shook her awake at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday. “Honey, the power is out,” he told her. “You’re not breathing.”

Mediati, 59, has hypoxia and requires an oxygen concentrator to breathe when she sleeps. Like everything else running on electricity in 600,000 Californian homes and businesses this week, her oxygen concentrator stopped working when the country’s largest utility company cut power to an unprecedented swath of the state as a preventive measure against wildfires.

For Californians like Mediati who rely on electronic medical devices, access to electricity is a matter of life or death.

“I had to be woken up because I stopped breathing,” Mediati said. “I could have died.”

In the latest shutoff in northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) cut the power to portions of 34 of the state’s 58 counties on Wednesday, a move that affects more than 1.5 million people. Of those affected, more than 30,000 are part of a medical baseline program, meaning they have special energy needs due to qualifying medical conditions.

These energy needs range from motorized wheelchairs, ventilators, dialysis machines, apnea monitors, electrostatic nebulizers to respirators – all of which require power to operate. In the aftermath of the shutdown, people dependent on these devices were scrambling to find alternative power sources, places to charge them or other ways to get through what was originally slated to be up to five to seven days of no electricity.

Read her full story here:

Evacuations ordered for 100,000 in southern California

Welcome to our live coverage of the wildfires and power shutoffs plaguing the state of California today. We’ll be keeping you updated on the latest developments. I’m writing from Los Angeles, where the Saddleridge fire is continuing to spread and spark widespread evacuations.

To start, a quick summary of the status of these emergencies:

  • In northern Los Angeles, a rapidly spreading wildfire has led to evacuation orders for roughly 100,000 people across more than 20,000 homes.
  • The Saddleridge fire erupted Thursday night in Sylmar, the northernmost portion of the San Fernando valley, and it has spread at a rate of roughly 800 acres an hour into Granada Hills and Porter Ranch.
  • Fire officials said Friday morning the fire had grown to more than seven square miles and estimated that there was damage to at least 25 homes.
  • One middle-aged man died of a cardiac arrest near the fire, though specific details of the death were unclear.
  • A separate blaze also ripped through a mobile home park in Calimesa, a city roughly 65 miles (104km) east of LA, destroying dozens of residences.
  • Southern California Edison turned off electricity to about 20,000 people in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Kern counties but warned that thousands more could lose service as Santa Ana winds gained strength.
  • In northern California, PG&E had shut off power to an estimated 2 million people over fears its equipment could spark wildfires amid high winds.
  • PG&E has started the process of restoring power to some of the communities that were cut off on Wednesday and Thursday.

Our latest story here:

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