Firefighters in California are simultaneously fighting blazes in both the north and south of the state, with nine active fires on Friday.
The two largest fires are located north of Los Angeles and in the northern wine country.
The fire north of Los Angeles, the so-called Tick Fire, has caused the evacuation of more than 40,000 residents. It began Thursday afternoon just outside the city of Santa Clarita and has consumed about 17 square kilometers. Firefighters say more than 10,000 structures are threatened by the fire, which is only about 5% contained.
The blaze forced the closure of all schools in the area as well a major highway.
Another large fire is burning in northern Sonoma County, affecting the state's wine country. That fire, known as the Kincade Fire, has burned at least 49 buildings and 65 square kilometers.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in both Sonoma and Los Angeles counties Friday. No injuries have been reported from either fire.
In a visit to the communities affected by the Kincade Fire on Friday, Newsom expressed frustration with California's biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), saying the company “simply did not do their job.”
The company has said its electrical equipment may have caused the Kincade Fire, despite pre-emptive power outages to try to avoid a fire.
PG&E sent an "electric safety incident" report Thursday to the California Public Utilities Commission, saying that one of its power lines malfunctioned at about the time and location as the origin of the Kincade Fire.
The company said that while it shut off power to much of the region, it did not de-energize the transmission line that malfunctioned.
PG&E’s stock prices fell sharply Friday on the news.
The company is in bankruptcy because of liability from recent major wildfires, including one last year that killed 85 people in the northern California town of Paradise.
PG&E has shut down power to thousands of consumers in an effort to contain the spread of the fires. The utility is warning of another round of power outages starting Saturday, when winds are forecast to pick up strength again. It says that power shutdown could affect up to two million people.
Winds at speeds up to about 80 kilometers per hour are fanning the wildfires in California.
