Fueled by winds, largest wildfire moves near California city

By TERENCE CHEA, ETHAN SWOPE and JOHN ANTCZAK
Associated Press

GRIZZLY FLATS, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric says it has begun shutting off power to about 51,000 customers in 18 Northern California counties to prevent wildfires. The utility announced Tuesday evening that it has begun enacting the shutoffs as a precaution to prevent gusting winds from damaging power lines and sparking blazes in a tinder-dry region that already is struggling with a series of wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes. In the Sierra Nevada, the Caldor Fire has exploded to nearly 50 square miles (129 square kilometers), injured two people and devastated the town of Grizzly Flats. The nearby Dixie Fire has burned more than 600 homes.