An investigation is underway into a lashing wire that may have caused the Silverado Fire, a blaze that has forced tens of thousands of California residents to evacuate as it grows.
Southern California Edison is working with the Orange County Fire Authority to find the source of the more than 11,000-acre wildfire, a spokesperson told NBC News in a statement on Tuesday. Two firefighters were critically injured in the fight to contain the inferno in and around the community of Irvine.
Over 75,000 people were under evacuation orders due to the Silverado Fire as of Tuesday morning, the Orange County Fire authority announced.
Southern California Edison sent a letter late Monday to the California Public Utilities Commission acknowledging its electrical facilities are in the area where the Silverado fire broke out. But it said there was “no indication of any circuit activity prior to the report time of the fire” or downed conductors.
"However, it appears that a lashing wire that was attached to an underbuilt telecommunication line ... may have resulted in the ignition of the fire,” the letter said.
The Silverado Fire was only 5 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon.
Powerful winds in and around the area, southeast of Los Angeles, have not only helped the flames grow exponentially but also prevented aircrafts from dropping retardant and water on the fire, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said Monday.
Gusts in Orange County were recorded at 88 mph, California Gov. Gavon Newsom said Tuesday, but authorities are hopeful that waning winds will help bring in the needed air support as firefighters battle on the ground.
“Broadly, we will experience a reduction in the winds between now and Thursday, but the most extreme wind events we believe will present themselves later today in the evening,” Newsom said. “And most, hopefully, are behind us.”
The governor said that Southern California will be under a red flag warning until at least 11 p.m. Tuesday night as the wind and dry weather conditions continue to put the state at risk. There have been 42 initial fire starts within the last 24 hours, Newsom said.
“Meaning 42 wildfires had ignited in the last 24 hours,” Newsom said Tuesday. “It’s an extraordinary testament to Cal Fire that you don’t know about most of those — they’ve suppressed the vast majority of those.”
Orange County is also battling the Blue Ridge Fire, another blaze that started Monday and has grown to approximately 10,480 acres with 0 percent containment. The wildfire has now affected 2,500 houses and 10,000 people in Yorba Linda under evacuation orders, the Orange County Fire Authority announced on Tuesday.
Yorba Linda is a suburb located about 37 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles and home to the The Richard Nixon Library & Museum. The former president was born and buried in Yorba Linda.
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October 28, 2020 at 03:04AM
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Cause of Southern California fire that forced thousand to evacuate may be 'lashing wire' - NBC News
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