Firefighters battle 'diablo wind' to extinguish Oakland fire that burned 2 homes

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews continue to battle strong winds while they work to extinguish a brush fire in Oakland that ignited Friday afternoon, burning two homes and forcing 500 evacuations before it was contained.

The firefight will continue through the evening and at least Sunday morning, fire chief Damon Covington said in an update Saturday afternoon. It took more than 100 firefighters to stop the progress of the flames.

Calls arrived around 1:30 p.m. on Friday reporting a fire in front of a home in the Oakland hills. As crews arrived, the inferno quickly grew, with winds ranging from calm breezes to 40 mph (64 kph) gusts during red-flag conditions.

The fire burned two homes and damaged several others, while forcing hundreds to evacuate. It also closed down the westbound lanes of Interstate 580, but traffic was moving again by Friday night. While some evacuation orders have been lifted, many residents won't be able to return to their homes until the fire is “stabilized and really under control,” Covington said.

Fire crews are also working to remove eucalyptus trees that may pose a danger to homes, as the tree's bark and oils make it prone to fire.

Authorities issued red-flag warnings for fire danger until Saturday across a large swath of the state, from the central coast through the Bay Area and into northern Shasta County, not far from the Oregon border.

“The winds are troublesome, but we've been battling the winds since we got here,” Covington said. “They're incremental, they come and they go. But when they come, they're heavy, so we want to make sure we don't allow for a rekindle.”

A California utility shut off power in 19 counties in the northern and central part of the state as a major “ diablo wind ” — notorious in autumn for its hot, dry gusts — spiked the risk of wildfire.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

The blaze in the Oakland Hills burned a day before the Oct. 19 anniversary of a 1991 fire that destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people.

During a diablo wind, the air is so dry that relative humidity levels plunge, drying out vegetation and making it ready to burn. The name — “diablo” is Spanish for “devil” — is informally applied to a hot wind that blows near the San Francisco region from the interior toward the coast as high pressure builds over the West. The strong winds are expected to last through part of the weekend.

Rolo Tanedo Jr. looks inside his car, which became stuck in a sinkhole, as firefighters battle the Keller Fire burning in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Residents watch as firefighters battle the Keller Fire burning above Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter passes a home scorched in the Keller Fire near Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A flood warning was issued Saturday after an outburst from a glacial lake in Alaska's capital.

Suicide Basin is a side basin of the Mendenhall Glacier above the city of Juneau. Since 2011 it has released glacier lake outburst floods each year that cause inundation along Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River.

“We expect moderate flooding from this event, not major flooding,” said Nicole Serrin, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau.

Residents had 24 to 36 hours to prepare for flooding, she said. The flood warning was in effect until Monday.

The forecast called for the river to crest at around 11 to 11.5 feet (3.35 to 3.5 meters) early that day, the weather service said.

Officials warned people to stay away from the river. Recent snow has made the banks very slippery.

Suicide Basin fills with rainwater and snowmelt during the spring and summer and at a certain point builds enough pressure to force its way out through channels it carves beneath Mendenhall Glacier.

The basin started refilling with fall rain over the last couple of months, Serrin said. It was not certain how quickly it will drain or if it will empty completely.

In August, roughly 290 residences were damaged after the lake sent floodwaters into neighborhoods.

The Mendenhall River crested at 15.99 feet (4.9 meters) then, a new record, topping the level during last year’s flood by about a foot, and the water reached farther into the Mendenhall Valley, officials said.

Juneau, a city of about 30,000 people in southeast Alaska, is reachable only by plane or boat.

FILE - The face of Mendenhall Glacier is seen from along the Mount McGinnis trail in Juneau, Alaska, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)