Kincade Fire grows as crews battle 8 other blazes in California
A rabbit runs away from the Kincade Fire in Geyserville, Calif. Oct. 24, 2019
GEYSERVILLE, Calif. - The state's largest fire located in the heart of Wine County grew nearly 6,000 acres overnight. By Friday evening it stood at 23,700 acres and is just one of nine fires being fought in the Golden State, Cal Fire reported.
The Kincade Fire still remained at 5 percent contained and the entire community of Geyserville, population 900 about two hours north of San Francisco, remained evacuated. In all, 2,000 people remained under a forced evacuation stemming from the fire that broke out on Kincade Road on Wednesday about 9:30 p.m.
A total of 49 structures were burned. 600 structures are threatened. There have been no injuries or deaths reported. 1,300 firefighters are battling the wildfire.
Dramatic images of the Kincade Fire
The other big fires were reported in Southern California, including the Saddle Ridge, Tick and Cabrillo fires.
Meanwhile, PG&E admitted on Thursday its electrical equipment may have ignited the Kincade Fire, despite blackouts imposed across the region to prevent blazes.
The power shut-offs were imposed after PG&E electrical equipment was blamed for several blazes in recent years that killed scores of people and burned thousands of homes.
However, PG&E said Thursday it didn't de-energize a 230,000-volt transmission line near Geyserville that malfunctioned minutes before the fire erupted. The company reported finding a "broken jumper" wire on a transmission tower Wednesday night.
PG&E CEO Bill Johnson said it was too soon to know if the faulty equipment ignited the fire. He said the tower had been inspected four times in the past two years and appeared to have been in excellent condition.
In shutting off the electricity, PG&E cut power to the distribution lines that supply homes, but not to its long-distance transmission lines.
Meanwhile, the State of California received a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to recover 75% of the eligible costs of fighting the Kincade Fire, Governor Gavin Newsom's office said on Friday.
The grant will ensure the availability of resources and enable local, state and tribal agencies receive reimbursement for fire suppression costs.
Newsom tweeted his thanks to President Donald Trump on Friday morning.
While the high winds in Northern California had died down by Friday, they were expected to pick up over the weekend, with gusts of 40 to 60 mph in many places, and PG&E warned it may black out an even larger region.
PG&E chief meteorologist Scott Strenfel said Northern California could be in for the strongest offshore winds in years.
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The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.