New fires rage in California

Teams of firefighters battled a blaze that came within 30 yards of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Ventura County, Calif., on Wednesday. Officials placed thousands more people in Southern California under evacuation orders by Thursday morning, and much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties remained under an extreme fire danger warning.

How’s the forecast? The Santa Ana winds that sparked the wildfires and prompted Pacific Gas and Electric to power down the electricity are expected to linger for another day. “This is the last event in our near future. We are not expecting any Santa Anas next week,” National Weather Service meteorologist Kristen Stewart said.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about the backlash power companies have received over planned blackouts to minimize fire risk.