SACRAMENTO – California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency on Sunday due to the effects of unprecedented high-wind events which have resulted in fires and evacuations across the state.

The Kincade Fire in Northern California’s Sonoma County has burned more than 30,000 acres to date, and has led to the evacuation of almost 200,000 people and threatened hundreds of structures.

The Tick Fire in Southern California’s Santa Clarita Valley also destroyed structures, threatened thousands of homes and critical infrastructure, and caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

As of Sunday, there were more than 3,000 local, state and federal personnel, including first responders, assisting with the Kincade Fire alone.

“We are deploying every resource available, and are coordinating with numerous agencies as we continue to respond to these fires. It is critical that people in evacuation zones heed the warnings from officials and first responders, and have the local and state resources they need as we fight these fires,” Newsom said in declaring the statewide emergency.

Earlier this week, the governor secured Fire Management Assistance Grants to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the Kincade and Tick fires and enable local, state and tribal agencies to recover eligible costs.

The governor has also met with first responders, health officials, and residents of Napa, Geyserville and Los Angeles this week, and held public briefings regarding the ongoing fire threats and the need to hold utilities accountable for the consequences of their decisions to shut off power for large portions of the state.

Newsom has also announced a $75 million program for state and local governments to mitigate impacts of power shutoffs and unveil a series of new partnerships and new tools to help secure medically vulnerable populations during these events.​

A copy of Sunday’s proclamation can be found here.