Firefighters in California made progress Saturday containing a sizable new blaze in the southern part of the state as they continued to battle a much larger fire in the north.

The so-called Maria Fire broke out Thursday in bone-dry conditions in Ventura County, 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, sending thousands of people fleeing and endangering more than 2,500 structures.

It had spread to 9,412 acres (3,808 hectares) by Saturday evening, California fire officials said, but was 30 percent contained.

That progress came despite the forced grounding overnight of firefighting helicopters after at least two hobby drones were seen operating in the area, posing a risk of collision, officials said.

The Ventura County Fire Department warned on Twitter that "even a tiny drone can cause a serious or fatal accident if it collides with firefighting aircraft."

In Sonoma County north of San Francisco, the Kincade Fire -- the largest in the state this season -- was continuing to burn over 77,758 acres on Saturday evening and was 74 percent contained, state officials said.

The fires prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare an emergency across the state, parts of which have not had rainfall for months.

An extreme red-flag warning issued for the Los Angeles area this week was lifted Thursday but the National Weather Service warned that so-called Santa Ana winds could still wreak havoc through Saturday evening.

The state's largest utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric, has been shutting off power to millions of customers in northern and central California, reducing fire risks but provoking public outrage.

Last year's Camp Fire destroyed the northern California town of Paradise and killed 86 people. Similar blazes in the area the previous year killed 44 people.

Remarkably, the past two weeks have brought no fatalities even as hurricane-force winds have fanned fierce blazes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Authorities credited repeated warnings on radio and TV, PG&E's precautionary power shut-offs, the pre-positioning of firefighters in high-risk forests, and more sophisticated weather-prediction capabilities than in past years.

'Not on my list': private California firms fight fires, raise concerns
Los Angeles (AFP) Nov 1, 2019 - Kris Brandini and his crew had just returned from four intense, non-stop days battling fires in western Los Angeles.

They dashed to the neighborhood where wealthy residents like Arnold Schwarzenegger were fleeing their homes, then to the inferno that threatened the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, then back again.

But unlike state firefighters, Brandini was not concerned with protecting most of the exclusive residences lining these valleys.

He and his team are private firefighters.

"I only protect the houses that are on my list," he told AFP. "I don't just go there randomly -- that's the difference between me and the state firefighters.

"They go out and protect every house. I protect the houses that are actually enrolled in the program."

Firms like Brandini's Firebreak Protection Systems hit the headlines last year when Kim Kardashian West revealed she had employed a company to shield her home outside Los Angeles from wildfire.

Some were troubled by the ethics of private-sector firefighting. Fees can reach as high as $25,000 per day for a dedicated, manned truck at your personal property -- a luxury only the elite can enjoy.

Brandini is sanguine about it.

"OK, that's a lot of money, but if you're sitting on a $10-million mansion that's uninsurable, it's nothing, right?" he said. "So do I spend the $25,000 and make sure it's OK at the end of this fire?"

"I'm there for them... If there's a fire in their area, I'm loading up and going there to make sure they're safe until the fire passes."

- 'No guarantees' -

The growth in private firefighting has been driven by insurance companies, who hire firms based on the calculation that it would cost them more to rebuild multi-million dollar mansions.

Most of Brandini's work is from insurance firms.

"When people say, 'Oh, you guys cater to the rich' -- no, the rich are already rich, and they hired an insurance company that's rich to cover their house, and with that comes their in-house fire department," he said.

But having been stung badly by last year's Malibu blazes, some insurance firms are refusing to underwrite properties in high-risk zones, forcing wealthy individuals to seek private protection.

"I've had more calls on these last two fires than I've had in three years total," said Brandini.

He only has six wildfire response staff running three trucks, but plans to expand private coverage next year.

Further north in California, Don Holter's wildfire company has been running for almost three decades and has 25 staff.

He mainly works for the government on rolling three-year contracts, but the last 15 years have seen a growth in individual clients.

"I work for anyone else that needs me," he said.

Holter charges $5,000 a day per truck to individuals threatened by fires, but even in an emergency won't send his team out until his clients read through a detailed contract.

"I can't guarantee anybody's house is going to make it through a fire -- I'll do my best to keep it from burning, but it's Mother Nature," he said. "If the wind is blowing 85-90 mph, there's nothing nobody's going to do.

"As long as they agree to the terms, they know I'll do everything in my power," he said, adding that his crew's safety comes first.

- Pushed back -

While Holter admits most people can't afford his daily firefighting rate, he says it is fair market value.

"If I got to feed somebody, put them in a motel every night, feed them 3 meals a day and then pay them for a day's work, it's hard to do it much cheaper."

Instead, his company Mt Adams Wildfire, based outside Sacramento, prefers to focus on early preventive measures such as clearing brush, setting up sprinkler systems and educating residents.

Another criticism leveled at private firms has been from state firefighters who complain about having to jostle with civilian crews.

"When I started this in 2006, we were not really welcomed by any of the fire departments," Brandini admitted. "They see this private agency come in, they're like, 'What are you guys doing here?' We got pushed back for quite a few years."

But Brandini says that has changed as state resources have become increasingly overwhelmed.

"In the last 2-3 years it's changed dramatically. They're really receptive to us."

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Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

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California braces for powerful winds that could feed fires
Los Angeles (AFP) Oct 30, 2019
California braced on Tuesday for the most powerful winds this season that threaten to spread destructive fires raging in the state and could spark new blazes. Thousands of firefighters were racing against the clock to gain control of two major fires - the Kincade Fire in northern California and the Getty Fire, west of Los Angeles. The National Weather Service issued an extreme red flag warning indicating a high risk of wildfires for southern California, with gusts of up to 80 miles per hour (13 ... read more