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October 25, 2019 • Industry-related News

Newsom slams PG&E in visit with Kincade Fire responders

Story link: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Kincade-Fire-Geyserville-evacuations-Sonoma-County-14558943.php

In a news confernce in Healdsburg, Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom touted the state's efforts in wildfire repsonse planning and capital expenditures on firefighting aircraft.

The pre-positioning of firefighting assets in anticipation of dangerous fire weather, in particular, benefited the state's response to the Kincade fire, Newsom said.

But after the congratulatory language, the governor went on to slam PG&E:

"We should not have to be here. Years and years of greed, years and years of mismanagement in the utilities, in particularly PG&E. Greed has precipitated a lack of intentionality and focus and a hardening our grid, undegrounding their transmission lines. They simply did not do their job.

It took us decades to get here, but we will get out of this mess. We will hold them to an account that they have never been held to in the past. We will do everything in our power to restructure PG&E so it is a completely different entity. When they get out of bankruptcy by June 30th of next year, we will hold them accountable for the business interruption and costs associated with these blackouts and we will do the same with the other two investor owned utilities in Southern California," Newsom said.

"Mark my word it is a new day of accountability, it is a new day of transparency. But I cannot honestly look any of you in the eye and honestly say we can snap our fingers and address a decade of mismanagement," he added, attempting to set expectations.

In response to a reporter's question, Newsom said that while he has been in part of discussions about the cause of the fire, and PG&E's potential involvement due to a broken piece of equipment on a transmission tower, it is too early to determine a cause and the investigation is ongoing.

Cal Fire clarified that 21 of the 49 structures burned were homes, the remaining number were outbuildings. The fire continues to burn into remote areas of Sonoma county that are sparsely populated.

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 10:41 a.m.: Governor declares state of emergency

As fire crews battle raging wildfires across the state, Governor Gavin Newsom has delclared a state of emergency for Sonoma and Los Angeles counties.

Newsom is visiting Sonoma County today to talk with residents and first responders at the site of the Kincade Fire.

About 2,000 residents of Geyserville and the surrounding area are still under mandatory evacuation orders and at least 1,300 fire personnel are battling the 21,900 acre blaze and supporting fire operations.

A livestream of Newsom's comments will be broadcast by Cal Fire at 12:15 p.m. on Cal Fire's Facebook page.

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 9:30 a.m. Gov. Newsom visiting the site of the fire

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will travel to Sonoma County Friday to survey the affected area and visit communities impacted by the Kincade Fire.

The Governor's visit will include meeting with emergency responders, residents, health officers and local and state official, according to a statement from the governor's office.

The governor announced Thursday that California has secured Fire Management Assistance Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the response to the fire. The grant "will assist local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs," according to the statement.

UPDATE: Oct. 25, 7:35 a.m. Kincade Fire doubles in size in 24 hours

Cal Fire says the Kincade Fire in northern Sonoma County near Geyserville is now 21,900 acres with 5% containment. The fire more than doubled in size since Thursday morning. The number of structures damaged remains 49.

The fire has been expanding into very rugged territory, making it difficult for firefighters to deal with.

UPDATE: 6:55 a.m.:  While the Bay Area was largely spared from smoke from Sonoma County's Kincade Fire on Thursday, the National Weather Service expected air quality to to deteriorate across the central Bay Area Friday.

The smoke is forecast to begin arriving in the morning and become more widespread in the afternoon.

"Impacts to SFO may begin as early as 11am Friday," the NWS shared in a tweet.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokesperson Kristine Roselius expects locations in the central Bay Area will fall within the low "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" levels (AQI scale) "This is similar to a cold, winter day when we have a temperature inversion and wood smoke builds up over the region," she explained. "We can’t forecast smoke levels beyond tomorrow at this point because there are too many variables (fire containment, unexpected wind shifts, etc.). The public can likely get information about clean air spaces from their County of Emergency Services but that may vary by county."

The air quality will be poorer in the North Bay near the site of the Kincade Fire.