A fierce wind-driven wildfire erupted early Monday morning on the outskirts of Irvine CA, forcing the evacuation of 100,000 residents.
The Silverado fire is especially threatening, coming as it does in what forecasters called the “the most dangerous fire weather conditions since October 2019,” reports the Los Angeles Times. Those conditions included very low humidity and powerful, dry Santa Ana winds, gusting to more than 80 mph in higher elevations.
“Small trees were nearly ripped out by their roots amid gusts,” the newspaper says.
Thousands of acres were blackened in a matter of hours; the fire was uncontained, jumping highways, and the winds kept firefighting aircraft grounded.
Irvine is a city of nearly 300,000 in Orange County, south of Los Angeles and part of the L.A. metropolitan area.
“Thick smoke choked neighborhoods miles from where the fire broke out” east of the city, the LA Times says. “Strong winds sent ash flying, covering patios and backyards in the Woodbridge area and forcing residents indoors.”
“This is very typical for this time of year, but this one is very strong,” David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the newspaper.
More than 5,000 firefighters are battling at least 20 wildfires throughout California, part of a historically destructive fire season across the western U.S. Two firefighters were seriously injured fighting the Silverado fire. (See video below)
Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric shut off electricity to tens of thousands of customers around the state, hoping to prevent downed power lines from starting even more wildfires.
