Saddleridge Fire Expands to 850 Acres

A wind-driven wildfire had burned down a home park in Los Angeles, leaving thousands fleeing from their homes and killing an elderly woman after she was unable to escape the flames.

The fire dubbed as "Saddleridge fire" has started on Thursday, Oct. 9. April Newman, the representative of the Riverside County Fire Department, said that it is possibly caused by hastily burning trash dumped on the side of the highway.

The victim is identified as Lois Arvickson, 89 years old, who is living alone at the Villa Calimesa Mobile Home Park. Her son, Don Turner, claimed that he was on the phone with his mother when the blaze had reached the village.

Some neighbors had claimed that they have seen the woman save herself from the flame by riding a car. But the news coverage showed that Arvickson's car was still in the driveway of her destroyed car.

As of the early afternoon of Friday, only 10% of the 820 acre-wide fire has been contained. About 76 homes were already destroyed, while another 500 homes had been evacuated. 

Todd Hopkins, the Fire Chief of Riverside County, claimed that the drier weather and wind are making the fire worse, and so containing it is harder. There are also ongoing wildfire in Southern California, which exhausts their resources.

Aside from Saddleridge fire, another two wildfires appeared in California: the Wolf fire, located at Wolfskill Truck Road; and the Reche fire, which started in the 9000 blocks of Reche Canyon Road in Moreno Valley. Both of these fires are yet to be contained, but the evacuation orders in Reche have been lifted.

The dry winds are also causing transmission lines to spark. To minimize the fire danger, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) turned off the power supply, affecting nearly 800,000 homes and businesses in northern and central California. 

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized PG&E on a news conference, as this action only shows their failure to modernize their facilities. Meanwhile, Rep. Jackie Speier wrote on Facebook that although this measure is necessary for the moment, it is unsustainable, especially when high wind events will worsen as climate change continues.

PG&E was previously blamed for the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California, which happened last year and has claimed 85 people's life.

Fire warning has been extended until Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service, due to the continuous parched weather.