New wind-driven wildfire erupts in Southern California

In US, a new wildfire erupted yesterday in wind-whipped Southern California, forcing the evacuation of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and nearby homes. Both ends of the state struggled with blazes, dangerously gusty weather and deliberate blackouts.

Officials said that driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, the brush fire broke out before dawn between the cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark north of Los Angeles and exploded to more than 1,300 acres, threatening 6,500 homes.

Library spokeswoman Melissa Giller said, the hilltop museum in Simi Valley was not damaged. Reagan and



his wife, Nancy, are buried next to each other on a hillside at the library.

Meanwhile, frustration and anger mounted across Northern California as Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the state's largest utility, undertook its third round of sweeping blackouts in a week as a precautionary measure. More than 900,000 people were without power Wednesday, some of them since Saturday. Across the darkened neighbourhoods, people were worried about charging cellphones and electric vehicles, finding gasoline and cash, staying warm and keeping their food from spoiling.