by Josh Edelson with Jocelyne Zablit in Los Angeles HEALDSBURG, United States (AFP) — California’s governor declared a state-wide emergency on Sunday as a huge wind-fueled blaze forced evacuations and massive power blackouts, threatening tourist towns in the state’s famed Sonoma wine region. The so-called Kincade Fire, north of San Francisco, spread to 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) overnight, with only 10 percent containment by early afternoon Sunday, state fire authorities said. The blaze, the largest […]

  by Philip Pacheco Agence France Presse HEALDSBURG, United States (AFP) — Powerful winds were fanning wildfires in northern California in “potentially historic fire” conditions, authorities said Sunday, as tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate and sweeping power cuts began in the US state. Gusts of 80 miles per hour (130 kph) were fueling the Kincade blaze — which threatens tens of thousands of structures — causing it to burn with greater […]

  by Jocelyne ZABLIT Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Firefighters on Friday battled several wildfires raging across California that destroyed homes and forced evacuations, as more than 18 million people were under a red flag warning in the southern part of the state. Tens of thousands of residents near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, fled their homes as the so-called Tick Fire scorched 4,300 acres (1,740 hectares) and was only […]