Governor Newsom Declares State Of Emergency In Response To Wildfires
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in response to the wildfires rampaging the State of California. Certainly, the wildfires have led to the evacuation of approximately 200,000 residents of Sonoma County, making it the largest evacuation in Sonoma County history.
Wind Gusts Up To 70 MPH
A high wind warning was issued early Sunday morning for the following locations: Southern Sacramento Valley, Carquinez Strait and Delta, Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Northern Lake County, Clear Lake/Southern Lake County, Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley, Motherlode, Western Plumas County/Lassen Park, and West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada Counties. Northeast winds are at 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. Also, these wind gusts can reach up to 70 miles per hour over the highest elevations. This windstorm is anticipated to last through 11:00 PM PDT Sunday.
The windstorm has pushed wildfires across the State of California with the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County and the Tick Fire in Los Angeles. Moreover, this is leading to the destruction of homes, structures, and other infrastructures all over California.
Elk Grove And Sacramento
Elk Grove and Sacramento have seen consistent high winds at over 30 miles per hour. Notably, the winds have led to the spread of grass fires near Arena Boulevard in Natoma. At this time, Northbound and Southbound Interstate-5 has been closed. The closures begin at Interstate-80 if traveling Northbound and at Highway 99 if traveling Southbound.
Elk Grove alone has seen several fires today at Laguna Boulevard, Excelsior Road, and Bruceville Road near Eschinger Road. Above all, these fires have been contained. There are also several trees knocked down throughout Elk Grove with tree limbs and branches in the streets.
The majority of Elk Grove and Sacramento are serviced by SMUD and have therefore avoided many of the power outages issued by PG&E. SMUD, however, has begun to issue their own power outages which are currently affecting nearly 8,000 customers.
