California blaze forces evacuation orders and warnings for nearly all of Sonoma County.
A Northern California blaze forced evacuation orders and warnings for nearly all of Sonoma County stretching to the coast, with forecasts of strong winds prompting blackouts to prevent fire-causing power line damage.
Concern that gusts could knock down power lines and spark devastating wildfires prompted two blackouts in recent weeks. The wind event expected to peak early Sunday would likely be the strongest in several years, said PG&E meteorologist Scott Strenfel. He said Saturday that falling trees and breaking branches were likely. Relative humidity will dip into single digits, he said.
A firefighter shielded two people from flames with his fire shelter and all three were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Cal Fire said. Weekend forecasts detail what could be the strongest winds of the year coupled with bone-dry humidity. Many facing power shut-offs were far from fires. PG&E cast blackouts as public safety efforts to prevent the kind of blazes that killed scores of people over the past couple of years, destroyed thousands of homes, and ran up tens of billions of dollars in claims that drove the company into bankruptcy.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Uruguayans vote for president with eyes on likely runoffUruguayans head to the polls in tight presidential election that will be likely forced into run-off
Read more »