California Fires Live Updates: Homes Burn in San Bernardino – The New York Times

Firefighters battling the Kincade fire are optimistic.

Firefighters in Northern California believe they have “turned the corner” in battling the Kincade fire and are expecting more good news on Thursday and in coming days.

At a Wednesday night news conference, the authorities listed several positive signs: The fire was 45 percent contained, up from 30 percent on Wednesday morning. Air quality was improving. Strong, gusty winds had subsided. And most of the roughly 190,000 residents who were evacuated had been cleared to return to their homes.

“We believe that most of the threat is now in our rearview mirror, and we are moving forward here,” said Mark Essick, the Sonoma County sheriff.

The fire burned 76,825 acres, destroyed 266 structures and damaged 47 others as of Wednesday night. More than 4,200 firefighting personnel were still on the scene, some of whom worked through the night. The authorities cautioned that despite the good news, the fire could still behave unpredictably, as humidity remained low and there was no rain in the forecast.

But Jonathan Cox, a division chief with Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency, said firefighters were also shifting their focus away from the front lines and toward “secondary hazards,” including pockets of embers and trees in danger of falling.

In Southern California, a different picture emerged. A fast-moving brush fire that began early Wednesday — and burned its way 100 yards from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum — was still raging.