At a Thursday press conference, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said that the fire was at 0% containment. It’s unclear how many structures have been destroyed by the fire, but no injuries have been reported so far.
— Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) October 24, 2019
— Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield) October 24, 2019
"The winds have died down considerably but because of the winds last night we weren’t able to get resources around the fire," Mark Parks of Cal Fire said at the press conference, reported the San Francisco Gate. "Our aircraft can’t drop in those conditions. When you have that kind of wind speed, the resistance to control is beyond our capabilities. Because of the terrain and fuel conditions and the heat and humidity, the containment is still very challenging."
— Kate Larsen (@KateABC7) October 24, 2019
— Matthias Gafni (@mgafni) October 24, 2019
At least 500 personnel and eight air tankers are trying to quell the Kincade Fire, which is located near the Geysers geothermal power plant, northeast of the city of Healdsburg. Officials have speculated that the blaze may have been fueled by high winds that caused electric utilities to cut off power to thousands of residents in 17 counties on Wednesday.
Additionally, red flag warnings have been instituted for more than 25 million people in Northern and Southern California.
— Sara Stinson (@SaraStinsonNews) October 24, 2019
A red flag warning means that “warm temperatures, very low humidities, and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger,” Weather.com reported.
Several communities in California are under mandatory evacuation orders, including all of Geyersville, a community about 80 miles north of San Francisco.
— Kent Porter (@kentphotos) October 24, 2019
According to Parks, the fire is expected to grow Thursday.
"The rugged terrain, the rapidly expanding incident and the darkness last night made it tough to get a good, accurate picture of the amount of acreage" the fire is covering, he added.
— Brandon Orr (@BrandonOrrWPLG) October 21, 2019
— Pretty wise (@blak_stone89) October 24, 2019
— Kenfer A St. Rose (@leadwithkay) October 23, 2019
In addition to the Kincade Fire, the Old Water Fire in San Bernardino and the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles were also spreading rapidly on Thursday morning. The Old Water Fire had only spread around 50 to 100 acres as of Thursday, while the Palisades Fire had spread at least 100. Mandatory evacuations were issued for part of north San Bernardino, while almost 250 personnel managed to get the Palisades Fire to 55% containment on Thursday. Both fires were fueled by strong winds and increased temperatures.
Elsewhere in California’s Canyon Country, firefighters are working to contain the brush fire since named the Tick Fire, which has spread to some 200 acres in Agua Dulce. Local news station KTLA 5 reported that no evacuation orders have been issued as of yet.
