A state-wide emergency has been declared in California, that is grappling with massive wildfires, fuelled further by 'unprecedented high-winds', governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. It further spread in Mexico's Baja California on Thursday, near the U.S.-Mexico border, and killed two people while ravaging 125 homes as on Saturday.
The fires are supplemented by the region's dry conditions and the powerful Santa Ana winds. Santa Ana are strong winds that blow from north-east to south-west direction, from inland high elevation regions towards the coast of Southern California and Baja California in the month of October. This happens due to the development of the high-pressure condition in the interior regions of the state.
Owing to the fire that triggered on Wednesday, over 1,80,000 people have been evacuated, thousands of homes are under threat and the state is grappling through the worst blackout in its history. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) company ordered precautionary blackout to prevent fire triggered by damaged cables.
The company had warned of a probable blackout on Saturday. Their role in the whole situation is being scrutinized after it came to light that the Kinkade fire that is ravaging swathes of areas in the state's Sonoma County triggered 7 minutes after a nearby power line was damaged. However, the company hasn't confirmed the same, yet. Kinkade fire that began on Oct 23, has ravaged about 207 sq. km of wine county and has burned nearly 79 structures till now.
Ravaging fires are further fuelled by the strong Santa Ana winds that reached a speed of 144km/hr in hills north of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County and above 80km/hr in San Francisco's East Bay, on Sunday. According to the weather forecasts, the winds are expected to continue on Monday as well.
