California Contemplates a Dark and Fiery Future

More than a dozen wildfires are burning throughout the Golden State this week as California’s season of high climate anxiety has officially arrived. But this year’s autumnal dystopia—the coming of the Diablo and Santa Ana winds, which often whip up conflagrations during hot, dry weather—comes with an extra twist: unprecedented planned blackouts by the state’s most despised electrical utility.

As in 2017, this season’s biggest monster is in wine country north of the Bay Area. While the Getty Fire has swelled to more than 600 acres in densely populated West L.A. as of Tuesday morning, the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County had burned more than 75,000 acres and was just 15 percent contained. Nearly 200,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. On Sunday, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. To fight the flames, officials are deploying “every resource available,” Newsom said.