Los Angeles wildfire threatens the homes of the stars; other fire grows

LOS ANGELES -- A wildfire swept through the star-studded hills of Los Angeles early Monday, destroying several large homes and forcing LeBron James and thousands of others to flee in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, a blaze in Northern California wine country exploded in size.

The flames that roared up a steep hillside near the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles' Brentwood section illustrated the unprecedented danger the state faces as high winds batter both ends of California and threaten to turn any spark into a devastating inferno.

No deaths from either blaze were reported, but a firefighter was seriously injured in the wine country fire in Sonoma County.

Some 2.2 million people were without electricity after California's biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, shut off power over the weekend in the northern part of the state to prevent its equipment from sparking blazes. More deliberate blackouts are possible in the coming days because of another round of high winds in the forecast.

The company, which was driven into bankruptcy because of liability from several deadly wildfires in recent years, admitted Monday despite the outages, its power lines may have started two smaller fires over the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has also said its transmission lines may have been responsible for the Sonoma County fire.

That blaze, which broke out last week amid the vineyards and wineries north of San Francisco, doubled in just a day to at least 103 square miles, destroying 96 buildings, including at least 40 homes, and threatening 80,000 more structures, authorities said.

Nearly 200,000 people were under evacuation orders because of the fire, mostly from the city of Santa Rosa.

The flames didn't discriminate. In wine country, farmworkers who toil in the vineyards were among those displaced. In Los Angeles, James and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger were driven from their homes.

"Man these LA (fires) are no joke," the Los Angeles Lakers star tweeted, using an emoji for the word "fires." "Crazy night, man."

The Hollywood premiere of Schwarzenegger's "Terminator: Dark Fate" was canceled Monday night.

Anxious residents made their way down steep hillsides in the dark in Range Rovers, Teslas and Maseratis. They left behind homes decorated for Halloween -- skeletons hanging from homes, goblin sitting on front steps, cobwebs draped over bushes -- as a plume of smoke glowed like a giant pumpkin.

Tens of thousands of people were ordered to clear out as the fire spread to more than 600 acres and burned at least five homes, authorities said. That number was expected to climb.

The fire shut down southbound lanes of Interstate 405, a major commuting corridor and route to Los Angeles International Airport from the north.

The evacuation area extended westward into Pacific Palisades, encompassing some of the most exclusive real estate in California, where celebrities and executives live in mountain, canyon and ridgetop retreats costing tens of millions of dollars but are surrounded by tinder-dry vegetation.

David Boyle, 78, awoke at 3 a.m. to his doorbell ringing and police officers pounding on the front door. They warned him the wildfire was advancing toward his Brentwood home near the Getty complex.

"They said, 'You need to evacuate.' I'm like, 'When?' They said, 'Now,'" Doyle said. He grabbed dog food and his wife's jewelry and hustled his dogs out the door. They went to a recreation center.

"It's a fact of life when you live in this area," he said. "Every place has some problem with disasters. People talk about earthquakes here, but I don't think it's as bad as hurricane season."

Night-flying helicopters made water drops before daybreak, and airplanes unleashing loads of water and bright pink fire retardant joined the battle after sunrise.

The Getty, with its collection of priceless art, was not threatened, according to fire officials. The museum gave assurances that its artworks are protected by state-of-the-art technology.

But Mount St. Mary's University evacuated 450 students from its nearby campus. And the University of California, Los Angeles in the city's Westwood section canceled classes -- not because of any direct threat from the flames but because of disruptions caused by the fire.

Similarly in Northern California, some 40 school districts in Sonoma County canceled classes, as did the University of California, Berkeley, which had no power because of the outages.

With no rain in the forecast and more winds, the outlook in coming days is grim.

"This is when we have the most potential for large and damaging fires," said Thom Porter, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "All of California is in play right now."

Of the state's 58 counties, 43 were under warnings for high fire danger Sunday, with flames driven by gusts that reached more than 102 mph (164 kph). Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the weekend.

The biggest evacuation was in Sonoma County, where some people who packed up and fled had done so two years ago, when devastating wildfires swept through the region, killing 44 people.

At an evacuation center at Napa Valley College, Francisco Alvarado, 15, said he, two younger brothers and his parents decided to leave their Calistoga home in advance of evacuation orders. Two years ago, the family had to flee in the middle of the night.

"I'm pretty mad that we have to keep evacuating," he said. "I just want to be home. I'm trying to leave here tomorrow. I want to sleep in my bed."