California Wildfire Update: Hurricane-Level Winds Stoke Flames As 200,000 Evacuate

Winds nearing hurricane-force levels continued to batter California through Monday, further stoking the deadly wildfires that have been raging across the state since last week. Nearly 200,000 have been evacuated from their homes.

Sustained winds have reportedly reached 70 miles per hour, approximately the force of a Category 1 hurricane, with some gusts hitting 100 miles per hour.

Fed by these winds, the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County grew to 54,000 acres, dropping containment from around 10% to 5%. At least two firefighters have been injured in Northern California, with one needing to be airlifted to a hospital for burns.

In Los Angeles County, NBC News reports that the Tick Fire has now forced evacuations from the west side of Los Angeles. Firefighters are getting closer to containing the Southern California blaze, which has consumed over 4,600 acres.

The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that the winds could continue through Monday night before subsiding. However, they expected to return in some capacity by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

“The combination of strong offshore winds with very dry conditions and fuels will lead to dangerous fire weather conditions across parts of California,” the NWS said. “A number of wildfires are currently burning across the state, including the Kincade fire, the largest in the state. Critical to extreme threats are likely to persist in north-central and southern California through later this week.”