Warning for increased risk of fire danger issued for Northern California counties

[September 20, 2021]  (Reuters) - A "Red Flag Warning" was issued late on Sunday for several Northern California counties, implying an increased risk of fire danger, the U.S. National Weather Service said.

A Red Flag Warning means that warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger, it said.

The danger of fires increased from Sunday night in the East Bay hills and north into Solano County. The warning will stay in effect until Monday night.

The number of customers of Californian utility PG&E who are still affected by weather-related power outages in the Bay Area had dropped to under 8,000 by Sunday night.

The outages began late on Saturday as light rain and heavy fog settled on power lines and equipment that had accumulated dust and debris during a long dry spell. At one point nearly 29,000 customers were affected, NBC Bay Area reported.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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