Bay Area Thunderstorms Trigger Wildfires, Power Outages

San Francisco Bay experienced thunderstorms that began early on Sunday due to a rare severe thunderstorm system. The lightnings, along with the dry conditions, triggered wildfires throughout the region.

On Sunday, moisture from Tropical Storm Fausto interacted with the intense heat in the Bay Area, causing thunderstorms to develop.

"Wild night in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is probably the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm event in memory for Bay Area, & it's also one of the hottest nights in years," Climate Scientist Daniel Swain of UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research said in a tweet.

In a Lightning Flash Summary shared by National Weather Service (NWS) Bay Area on Twitter, the map shows the areas that received the most lightning flashes, most of which were negative while a significantly smaller number of which were positive.

According to NWS, although positive lightnings only make up about 5% of all lightning strikes, they are particularly more dangerous and, are believed to be responsible for a significant percentage of forest fires.

Sure enough, the conditions kept Bay Area firefighters busy responding to multiple reports of fires across the region, most of which were presumed to have been triggered by the lightnings.

CBS SF Bay Area also reports of tens of thousands of people left without power mostly because of the lightning strikes but partly because of the power lines that were downed by the high winds. In Santa Clara County, the downed power lines even caused another fire that was fortunately contained within several hours.

With more thunderstorms expected, the NWS has extended its Red Flag Warning for California until Monday afternoon.

A Red Flag Warning is issued when a weather event may result in "extreme fire behavior" within 24 hours. It is considered the highest alert wherein all residents are being urged to be prepared for any possible fire event.

"During these times extreme caution is urged by all residents, because a simple spark can cause a major wildfire," the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CalFire) said.

Apart from the threat of lightnings and fires, the Bay Area is also under an Excessive Heat Warning that is in effect until Wednesday. During this time, the hottest locations may experience temperatures up to 105 degrees, so people are being advised to drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun and to check up on relatives and neighbors.