California: wildfires ravage state as 2 million face looming blackouts – live

Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as dry, windy conditions fuel fires across the stateCalifornia wildfires: tens of thousands ordered to evacuate 2.15am BST The lights are back on for 99% of the customers who lost power in the latest planned power shutdown, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reports. As of 5pm, the only customers who remained in the dark are those living in Sonoma county, where the Kincade fire has been burning since Wednesday night. PG&E says about 178,000 customers were impacted by the shutdown, including the Sierra Foothills, North Bay, San Mateo and Kern counties.#BREAKING : I just shot this timelapse video showing a huge flareup developing at the #KincadeFire . I was the only reporter allowed this far up Pine Flat Road because I was just returning from the frontlines when the flareup happened. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/eMrcCbPPsy 2.04am BST California governor Gavin Newsom today pledged $75 m to help communities prepare for future blackouts and wildfires. The grant funding can be used to purchase generators and generator connections, fuel storage or backup energy sources or to improve critical infrastructure. Partly because of climate change, both wildfires and blackouts are widely expected to recur, and the one-time $75 mn in funds could help communities offset costs as they prepare for future disruptions.Decades of greed and mismanagement by PG&E have led us to this moment. Californians are infuriated — I am too.We just a launched $75 million fund to help communities across our state dealing with these power shutoffs.https://t.co/LZ8NNB5T7D Continue reading…
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