Affordability and a drop in skilled workers fueled the area’s plummet in a new analysis of the nation’s best-performing cities.

The fire that started Thursday at the Vistra Energy battery plant in Moss Landing, roughly 80 miles (about 130 kilometers) south of San Francisco, led to 1,700 people evacuating, closed part of Highway 1 and generated huge flames and significant amounts of smoke. The cause is under investigation.

Is South by Southwest still a good place for startups to hit up venture capitalists? Three S.F. startups that won a spot in the festival's pitch competition this year are hoping so.