bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Some 50,000 people in the US have been ordered to flee their homes north of Los Angeles as a fast-moving fire driven by high winds erupted and raged out of control.
The so-called Tick Fire near Santa Clarita, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of Los Angeles, broke out in the early afternoon on Thursday and quickly consumed more than 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres), fire officials said.
The blaze burned several homes and structures and forced the closure of a major highway and a number of roads, as some 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters battled the flames.
There were no immediate reports of injury.

“We are urging everybody to evacuate at this time,” a spokesman for the fire department said.
The fire erupted as much of the state was under a red flag warning because of gusty winds, high temperatures and low humidity which make for perfect conditions for fires.
In northern California wine country, some 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate after a brush fire erupted late Wednesday, quickly growing from a blaze of a few hundred acres into a 6,500-hectare (16,000-acre) inferno, California fire officials said.
About 500 responders battled the fire fed by wind gusts topping 100 kilometres per hour (70 miles per hour).

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the community of Geyserville and nearby vineyards after the fire started in a mountainous area and quickly spread, crossing a highway and moving toward homes, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.
“If you’re in Geyserville, leave now,” the sheriff’s office advised, citing an extraordinary threat to life and property.
Winds out of the north were driving the fire as firefighters struggled to save homes.
By early evening, the fire was five per cent contained and several structures had burned, fire officials said.


The blaze – 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of San Francisco – came amid official warnings that much of northern California and parts of the south were under imminent threat of fires into Friday because of blustery, dry weather and high temperatures.
Another brush fire in San Bernardino County, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Los Angeles, also prompted evacuation orders as it quickly burned 30 hectares (75 acres).
Power was cut to some 180,000 customers in the northern part of the state on Thursday and similar pre-emptive shut-offs affected thousands of customers further south because of conditions that are ripe for wildfires.
Power companies warned that additional power cuts could be ordered to reduce the risk of accidental fires.

The strong winds in the north were expected to subside on Friday but are forecast to pick up again on Sunday, the National Weather Service warned.
Many residents of Geyserville said they barely had time to gather their belongings as the monster fire quickly approached the town, with embers igniting fires throughout the region.
“We thought we were a couple of miles from the fire,” Dwight Monson, 68, told the Los Angeles Times. “But guess what – the winds.”
He said by the time his family got in their cars and escaped to the valley below, the flames were on the edge of their ranch.
PG&E, the state’s biggest utility, said in a statement that it had informed regulators that a jumper on a transmission tower near where officials said the fire had started was broken.

The company – which has been held responsible for numerous wildfires in the state – said that even though power to nearly 28,000 customers in Sonoma County, including Geyserville, had been shut down on Wednesday, some of the high-voltage transmission lines were still operating when the fire broke out.
“We relied on the protocol and we still, at this point, do not know what exactly happened,” PG&E CEO and president Bill Johnson told a news conference.
This week’s fires have erupted as the state is still recovering from deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed more than 100 people.
The fires have been fuelled by years of drought and dry vegetation.
“This is an emotional time for many people,” Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick told a news conference on Thursday. “It’s only been two years since the fires that devastated our community. For many this will be a very stressful and anxious time.”


Gaza’s Rafah crossing reopens amid Israel-Hamas ceasefire, but challenges remain

Xi wants yuan’s global punch to match Chinese economic might

China navigates US threats to anchor global shipbuilding dominance in 2025

Trump vows to sue ‘dope’ Trevor Noah over Grammys joke linking him to Epstein island

United States

Tens of thousands evacuated as huge fires rage across US state of California

A firefighter at the scene of a fire-ravaged home in Santa Clarita, California. Photo: AP

A home destroyed by the wind driven wildfire is seen in the hills of Canyon Country north of Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 24, 2019.REUTERS/ Gene Blevins

A firefighter assesses the damage of a home from the Tick Fire, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. The dramatic fires and evacuations — near Los Angeles and in the wine country of Northern California — came against a backdrop of power shutoffs that utility companies said were necessary to stop high winds from toppling trees or blowing debris into power lines and starting fires. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa)

Thick black smoke fills the sky as firefighters battle a wind driven wildfire in the hills of Canyon Country north of Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 24, 2019.REUTERS/ Gene Blevins

Local residents walk their way through thick smoke to evacuate as firefighters battle a wind driven wildfire in the hills of Canyon Country north of Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 24, 2019.REUTERS/ Gene Blevins

Massive fire erupts at site of New Zealand’s biggest building project

Smoke rises as a fire blazes at the Sky City Convention Centre, which is under construction in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: Reuters

Smoke rises as a fire blazes at Sky City Convention Centre, which is under construction in Auckland, New Zealand, October 22, 2019, in this still image taken from video obtained from social media. Amy Wadsworth via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

100,000 evacuated as firefighters battle to contain southern California blazes

Firefighters battle a wildfire at a soil and mulch plant in Newhall, California. Photo: AP Photo

Smoke from a wildfire engulfs a hillside as traffic flows along I-5 Freeway Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Newhall, Calif. The smoky scent spreading through much of Los Angeles was a reminder of the threat of a fire season just beginning. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

SYLMAR, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 12: Firefighters work during a flare up at a mulch supplier during the Saddleridge Fire on October 12, 2019 in Porter Ranch, California. The wind-driven fire has burned 7,500 acres and destroyed 76 structures, leaving one man dead. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

1,000 firefighters battle massive bush fires raging in eastern Australia

A firefighter battles the flames during a large bush fire in northern New South Wales on Tuesday. Photo: DPA

10 September 2019, Australia, Clarence Valley: A firefighter walks near a blazing bush fire, during a large bushfire in northern New South Wales. Photo: Jason O'brien/AAP/dpa

Golfers are seen on the green next to a bushfire-damaged area in Peregian Springs on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, September 10, 2019. AAP Image/Dan Peled/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. AUSTRALIA OUT. NEW ZEALAND OUT.

Australian firefighters battle 100 blazes and it’s not summer yet

Firefighters extinguish a large bush fire in northern New South Wales. Photo: dpa

Global outcry grows as hundreds of new fires rage in Amazon

View of burnt areas of the Amazon rainforest, near Porto Velho, Rondonia state, Brazil. Photo: AFP

epa07792016 A snake flees from the fire, in the Amazon of Rondonia, Brazil, 24 August 2019. Brazil began on 24 August to deploy 44 thousand soldiers it has in the vast Amazon region to fight forest fires. About 150 kilometers from Porto Velho, in the regional capital of the Amazon state of Rondonia, a considerable part of the land has been buring for more than 24 hours and has already consumed more than five kilometers of the land. EPA-EFE/JOEDSON ALVES

epa07789490 A handout photo made available by NASA Earth Observatory of a map showing active fire detections in Brazil as observed by Terra and Aqua MODIS satellites between 15 and 19 August 2019 (issued 24 August 2019). The locations of the fires, shown in orange, have been overlain on nighttime imagery acquired by VIIRS. In these data, cities and towns appear white; forested areas appear black; and tropical savannas and woodland (known in Brazil as Cerrado) appear gray. Note that fire detections in the Brazilian states of Para and Amazonas (C-top) are concentrated in bands along the highways BR-163 and BR-230. The intensification of the fires, caused by the severe drought, high temperatures and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, has drawn criticism over the Brazilian Government's lack of action. EPA-EFE/NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

National Force military firefighters stand in line to board a plane to Rondonia northern Brazil, to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest at the Military Air Base in Brasilia, on August 24, 2019. - The flight was due to leave Brasilia in the late afternoon, but for operational reasons was postponed for Sunday morning. President Jair Bolsonaro authorized Friday the deployment of Brazil's armed forces to help combat fires raging in the Amazon rainforest, as a growing global outcry over the blazes sparks protests and threatens a huge trade deal. (Photo by Sérgio Lima / AFP)

News

World

United States & Canada


The so-called Tick Fire broke out in the early afternoon on Thursday and quickly consumed more than 2,000 hectares, fire officials said
It erupted as much of the state was under a red flag warning for gusty winds, high temperatures and low humidity – perfect conditions for fires



The so-called Tick Fire broke out in the early afternoon on Thursday and quickly consumed more than 2,000 hectares, fire officials said.
