Northern California winds topple trees, spread outages and raise wildfire concerns
THE ONGOING CONFLICT IS IMPACTING FUEL PRICES AND TRAVELERS. DRY WEATHER AND STRONG WINDS ARE FUELING GRASS FIRES ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THEY’RE ALSO SENDING TREE BRANCHES PLUMMETING TO THE GROUND AND CAUSING WIDESPREAD DAMAGE. SOME PEOPLE ARE EVEN SEEING THEIR POWER SHUT OFF BECAUSE OF THE FIRE RISK. FROM NORTH OF REDDING TO SOUTH OF BAKERSFIELD, A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT. AND TODAY IS A KCRA 3 WEATHER IMPACT DAY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AFTER THE GAME. I’M CECIL HANNIBAL. PEOPLE ACROSS OUR REGION ARE FEELING THAT WIND AND SEEING IMPACTS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS A LIVE LOOK AT THE PG&E OUTAGE MAP. IT SHOWS WHERE PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFFS ARE UNDERWAY, AS WELL AS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF UNPLANNED POWER OUTAGES. THOSE PLANS SHUT OFFS ARE PRIMARILY ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY, WEST OF INTERSTATE FIVE FROM TEHAMA TO FRESNO COUNTIES. AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF UNPLANNED OUTAGES AS WELL, LIKELY CAUSED BY GUSTY WINDS. THE LARGEST OUTAGES ARE IN NEVADA. SOLANO, YOLO AND EL DORADO COUNTIES. WE’RE WATCHING THE WIND AND THE RED FLAG WARNING TONIGHT. OUR METEOROLOGIST OPHELIA YOUNG IS HERE NOW. SO OPHELIA, IS THE WIND FINALLY STARTING TO CALM DOWN? WELL, IT’S GOING TO TAPER OFF A LITTLE BIT OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER, IT’S GOING TO RETURN TOMORROW AND WE HAVE ANOTHER WEATHER IMPACT DAY AND ANOTHER DAY UNDER A RED FLAG WARNING. BUT TODAY I’M THANKFUL THAT THERE WEREN’T MORE FIRES OR MORE PROBLEMS BECAUSE WE’VE HAD SOME OF THE STRONGEST WINDS THAT WE HAVE HAD ALL YEAR. SACRAMENTO EXECUTIVE AIRPORT THE WEATHER STATION THERE, CLOCKING A WIND GUST OF 51MPH. THAT WAS AROUND 2:00 THIS AFTERNOON, A LITTLE STRONGER ALONG LOGANDALE AND MAXWELL. WIND GUSTS IN THE LOW 50S IN VACAVILLE AND YUBA CITY. WINDS ALSO GUSTING IN THE UPPER 40S. AS YOU’LL NOTICE, MOST OF THESE SPOTS ARE ALONG I-5 IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY, AND THAT IS WHERE THE HIGHEST RISK WILL REMAIN TODAY, TONIGHT, AND TOMORROW. NOW, TOMORROW, THE WINDS WILL RETURN. IN THE MORNING. THEY WON’T BE AS STRONG AS WHAT WE EXPERIENCED TODAY. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM WITH TOMORROW IS AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS OF THESE NORTH WINDS, THE AIR IS VERY DRY AND THE FUELS ARE ALSO VERY DRY, WHICH MEANS THAT FIRE THREAT REMAINS ELEVATED. RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN PLACE UNTIL TOMORROW EVENING. FOR THOSE WINDS THAT CONTINUE TO BLOW OUT OF THE NORTH. VERY LOW AFTERNOON HUMIDITIES WITH THE HIGHEST RISK STILL IN THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY ALONG I-5. CURRENTLY, THE WINDS DOWN TO 20 TO 30MPH. SUSTAINED. WE STILL HAVE GUSTS THAT ARE IN THE UPPER 30S AND LOW 40S. THESE WINDS WILL, FOR THE MOST PART, STAY AT THIS SPEED OVERNIGHT. BUT TOMORROW THEY’RE GOING TO PICK RIGHT BACK UP AGAIN WITH WINDS GUSTING TO ABOUT 3540MPH IN THE MORNING, TAPERING OFF IN THE AFTERNOON. SO THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AS YOU STEP OUTSIDE TOMORROW. THOSE GUSTS TO ABOUT 3545MPH. THE TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 60S AS YOU WALK OUT OF WORK TOMORROW, THOSE WINDS WILL BE A LITTLE LIGHTER STILL GUSTING TO ABOUT 25MPH. BUT THEN YOU ALSO NOTICE THAT TEMPERATURES FEEL A LITTLE WARMER. WE’VE GOT 87 FOR THE FORECAST, HIGH FOR YOUR MONDAY. AND THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO GO UP THE REST OF THIS WEEK. WE’LL TALK MORE ABOUT THE HEAT THAT WILL REPLACE THE FIRE DANGER COMING UP. CECIL THANK YOU. THOSE STRONG WINDS THAT OPHELIA WAS TALKING ABOUT ARE ALSO TOPPLING TREES. LOOK AT THIS PHOTO SHARED BY THE GRASS VALLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT. YOU CAN SEE A TREE ON TOP OF A POWER LINE. THOSE STRONG WINDS ALSO CAUSING POWER OUTAGES IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY. MORE THAN 5600 CUSTOMERS DON’T HAVE POWER RIGHT NOW. KCRA 3’S CORTEZ REPORTS ON HOW FIREFIGHTERS AND UTILITY CREWS ARE DEALING WITH CHALLENGING CONDITIONS. IT’S THE AFTERMATH OF STRONG WINDS ECHOING THROUGHOUT MUCH OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. GUSTS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO TOPPLE TREES AND KNOCK OUT POWER FOR THOUSANDS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY. ANY TIME WE SEE WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE THAT DEFINITELY CAN IMPACT OUTAGES. THE NORTHERN WINDS LEAVING A TRAIL OF DOWNED TREES AND BRANCHES WHILE KEEPING CREWS BUSY AS OUTAGES SPREAD ACROSS MULTIPLE NEIGHBORHOODS. THIS MORNING, WE WERE ROUGHLY ABOUT 17,000 CUSTOMERS IMPACTED. BUT OUTAGES AREN’T THE ONLY ISSUE. THE SPEED OF THE WINDS POSING A CHALLENGE TO FIREFIGHTERS. CREWS RACING TO PUT OUT GRASS FIRES LIKE THIS THREE ACRE FIRE ON WATT AVENUE THAT THREATENED NEARBY BUILDINGS. WE’VE ALREADY SEEN MULTIPLE FIRES JUST TODAY ALONE IN OUR COUNTY THAT HAVE REALLY PRESSED OUR RESOURCES. SACRAMENTO FIRE SAYS STRONG WINDS ARE FORCING CREWS TO TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS FOR POTENTIAL DOWNED POWER LINES THAT CAN CAUSE A FIRE. WE WERE PLANNING ON PUTTING OUR HELICOPTER IN OUR DOZERS. SOME OF OUR RESOURCES UP STAFF TOWARDS THE END OF THIS MONTH, WE’VE ACTUALLY WENT AHEAD AND PUT THEM IN SERVICE TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE FULLY OUTFITTED AND FULLY CAPABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS TODAY. WITH THESE HIGH WINDS, FIRE CREWS SAY THE RED FLAG CONDITIONS MEAN EVEN SMALL FIRES CAN SPREAD QUICKLY. AS STRONG WINDS CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. JUST THE OTHER DAY, WE HAD A POWER LINE COME DOWN, CAUSED A FIRE, AND THANKFULLY, OUR MEMBERS WERE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE IT, IDENTIFY IT, AND GET SMUD AND THE RESOURCES THAT WE NEED TO MITIGATE IT BEFORE THEY THEMSELVES WERE PUT IN HARM’S WAY. SACRAMENTO, CORTEZ KCRA THREE NEWS. SACRAMENTO METRO FIRE RECOMMENDS HAVING A GO BAG READY IN CASE EVACUATIONS ARE NEEDED BECAUSE OF A FIRE. WINDS ARE FUELING FIRES ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. ONE EXAMPLE IS THE FIRE IN STANISLAUS COUNTY THAT BURNED 191 ACRES TODAY. CAL FIRE SAYS IT STARTED JUST BEFORE 1230 THIS AFTERNOON AT COUNTY ROAD AND OLD LAGRANGE ROAD SOUTH OF LA GRANGE. NOW THE FIRE BURNED NEAR THE MERCED COUNTY LINE. FOR CONTEXT, CREWS WERE ABLE TO STOP IT AND A
Northern California winds topple trees, spread outages and raise wildfire concerns
Updated: 8:24 PM PDT May 17, 2026
Strong winds swept across Northern California over the weekend, toppling trees, knocking out power to thousands and fueling fast-moving fires across the region.“Any time we see winds of this magnitude, that definitely can impact outages,” SMUD spokesperson Sophia Gutierrez told KCRA 3.The winds scattered downed trees and branches across Sacramento County, leaving utility crews responding to outages in multiple neighborhoods. At one point Sunday morning, SMUD reported nearly 17,000 customers without power in Sacramento County.The windy conditions also heightened fire danger under Red Flag warnings issued for parts of Northern California. Along Watt Avenue, a vegetation fire burned about three acres and threatened nearby buildings before crews stopped the forward spread.“We’ve already seen multiple fires just today alone in our county, and have really pressed our resources,” Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn told KCRA 3.Fire officials said the department accelerated staffing plans because of the dangerous conditions, bringing in additional resources earlier than expected, including helicopters and bulldozers.“We’ve actually went ahead and put those in today to make sure that we’re fully outfitted and fully capable to meet the needs today with these high winds,” Wilbourn said.Officials are also urging residents to stay away from downed power lines, warning that strong winds can bring lines down and spark fires.SMUD encouraged customers experiencing outages to report them through the utility’s mobile app or outage map online, where residents can also monitor restoration updates. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —
Strong winds swept across Northern California over the weekend, toppling trees, knocking out power to thousands and fueling fast-moving fires across the region.
“Any time we see winds of this magnitude, that definitely can impact outages,” SMUD spokesperson Sophia Gutierrez told KCRA 3.
The winds scattered downed trees and branches across Sacramento County, leaving utility crews responding to outages in multiple neighborhoods. At one point Sunday morning, SMUD reported nearly 17,000 customers without power in Sacramento County.
The windy conditions also heightened fire danger under Red Flag warnings issued for parts of Northern California. Along Watt Avenue, a vegetation fire burned about three acres and threatened nearby buildings before crews stopped the forward spread.
“We’ve already seen multiple fires just today alone in our county, and have really pressed our resources,” Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn told KCRA 3.
Fire officials said the department accelerated staffing plans because of the dangerous conditions, bringing in additional resources earlier than expected, including helicopters and bulldozers.
“We’ve actually went ahead and put those in today to make sure that we’re fully outfitted and fully capable to meet the needs today with these high winds,” Wilbourn said.
Officials are also urging residents to stay away from downed power lines, warning that strong winds can bring lines down and spark fires.
SMUD encouraged customers experiencing outages to report them through the utility’s mobile app or outage map online, where residents can also monitor restoration updates.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google