Hundreds of thousands due to forest fire in California without electricity

A forest and bush fire in the US state of California has spread in just a few hours over an area of ​​about 4,000 hectares (40 square kilometers) due to strong winds. The fire near the town of Geyserville north of San Francisco is currently completely out of control, the local police said on Twitter.

In the Sonoma district - known mainly as a wine-growing region - a mandatory evacuation was therefore ordered for hundreds of houses, reported local media. The cause of the fire was initially unclear.

Energy provider Pacific Gas & Electric (PG & E) announced on Wednesday that it had shut down power in parts of northern California for the second time this month due to increased forest fire risk. Up to 179,000 customers in 17 districts of the western coastal state should be affected by the measure in the next few days - including Sonoma, the site of the recent fire. The company said there was a heightened fire hazard due to predicted strong winds and severe drought.

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Two weeks ago, the power had been cut off for more than 700,000 customers. People were in the dark in numerous regions, including in urban areas around San Francisco. Shops and schools remained closed, traffic lights failed. Customers and politicians had criticized the drastic measure of the energy supplier. Their allegation: PG & E had failed over the years to invest in the network and to modernize its facilities. Criticism over badly maintained power lines has become loud again and again after numerous major fires in recent years.

The devastating forest fire in the northern California town of Paradise, which killed 85 people in November last year, was said to have been triggered by faulty power lines. Strong wind and dry vegetation contributed to the fire spreading extremely fast.