State of Emergency in California due to fires

A total of 43 out of 58 counties were under red flag warnings for high fire danger while 200,000 people remain under an evacuation order from the threat of wildfire. Fire conditions statewide made California a tinderbox.

California: Californian Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in response to California's raging wildfires powered by gusts that reached more than 164 kph.

As nearly 200,000 people remain under evacuation order from the threat of wildfire, some of the millions of people in Northern California on track to get their electricity back may not have power restored before another possible round of shut-offs and debilitating winds.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has notified more than 1.2 million people that they may have their electricity shut off for what could be the third time in a week and the fourth time this month.

Meanwhile, more than 2.4 million people who lost electricity over the weekend were awaiting restoration as hurricane-force winds whipped through the state fuelling a wildfire in Sonoma County as smaller spot fires cropped up.

Fire conditions statewide made California a tinderbox, said Jonathan Cox, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Of the state's 58 counties, 43 were under red flag warnings for high fire danger on Sunday.