California wildfires

Stories 321 - 340 | << Prev   Next >>

Feds Failed to Clear Brush in LA Wildfire Area

(Newser) - Federal authorities failed to follow through on plans earlier this year to burn away highly flammable brush in a forest on the edge of Los Angeles to avoid the very kind of wildfire now raging there. Months before the blaze erupted, the US Forest Service obtained permits to burn away...

Chimps, Lions Saved From Calif. Inferno

Volunteers help evacuate exotic animals from threatened Wildlife Waystation

(Newser) - Volunteers leaped to the rescue yesterday as the gigantic Station fire approached a home for exotic animals north of Los Angeles. Rescuers drove trucks, horse trailers, and an 18-wheeler Budweiser truck to the Wildlife Waystation to help evacuate its tigers, lions, bears, ostriches and other animals to the Los Angeles...

LA Fire Now 22% Contained
 LA Fire Now 22% Contained 
Sep 1, 2009 10:22 PM CDT

LA Fire Now 22% Contained

(Newser) - The Station fire raging near Los Angeles is 22% contained tonight, authorities tell the Times—though they caution that if the weather turns uncooperative again the blaze could worsen. Some evacuation orders were lifted. The Mount Wilson observatory and a nest of communication towers nearby were still threatened, however, and...

LA's 'Very Angry Fire' Hits 105K Acres
 LA's 'Very Angry Fire' 
 Hits 105K Acres 
UPDATED
Aug 31, 2009 9:44 PM CDT

LA's 'Very Angry Fire' Hits 105K Acres

Blaze claims 74 structures; officials not optimistic until weather changes

(Newser) - The so-called Station wildfire in Los Angeles County has now burned 105,000 acres, authorities say tonight, and has claimed 74 structures. “The fire is headed just about anywhere it wants to,” one official told the Times as gusty afternoon winds fanned the blaze, which is threatening the...

LA Wildfire Strands Evacuation Holdouts

(Newser) - The so-called Station Fire is closing in on Los Angeles residents who refused to evacuate with their neighbors over the weekend and are now trapped and in danger, KTLA reports. Five people are stranded in a canyon, according to the AP. "Those people were told to get out two...

Calif. Wildfire Doubles Size to 85K Acres

10K evacuated as soot covers parts of Los Angeles

(Newser) - A southern California wildfire almost doubled in size overnight, reaching a whopping 85,760 acres, NBC Los Angeles reports, calling the speed of the fire’s spread “staggering.” A blanket of soot covers parts of the city as locals are warned to stay indoors, and heavy winds are...

2 Firefighters Killed in Calif. Blaze

Pair drives off road as flames consume national forest

(Newser) - Two California firefighters drove off a treacherous road to their death as they helped battle a 43,000-acre inferno in the Angeles National Forest, reports the Los Angeles Times. More than 2,800 firefighters, 12 helicopters and eight air tankers have converged on the area where the blaze now threatens...

'Treacherous' Calif. Blaze Threatens Town

Official cites 'perfect storm of fuels, weather, and topography'

(Newser) - A growing California wildfire that has already scorched 35,000 acres and burned three people is bearing down on a small mountain community, the Los Angeles Times reports. Driven toward Acton, Calif., by wind and triple-digit heat, the blaze is "treacherous," said one fire chief. Firefighters plan “...

Calif. Pot Fire a Symptom of Drug Farm Epidemic

(Newser) - The La Brea fire that’s scorched 90,000 acres of California is the most visible sign yet of the glut of Mexican-run drug farms lurking in the state’s forests, the LA Times reports. Authorities are all but certain the fire was started by drug traffickers at a large,...

Illegal Drug Farm Started Calif. Wildfire: Officials

(Newser) - An illegal marijuana farm is responsible for a blaze that has charred more than 75,000 acres in Santa Barbara County, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. Authorities say a Mexican drug organization started the fire in the cooking area of a pot farm, and those behind it are likely...

Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz
 Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz 
Aug 15, 2009 6:16 AM CDT

Wildfire Scorches Santa Cruz

(Newser) - The first major California wildfire of the season has consumed over 5,000 acres in Santa Cruz County and won't be fully contained for a week, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Over a thousand firefighters are battling the blaze in rugged terrain that hadn't had a major fire in...

Thousands of Calif. Fire Evacuees to Head Home

(Newser) - Thanks to cooler, more humid weather and a drop-off in damaging winds, thousands of Santa Barbara wildfire evacuees are being allowed back home, the Los Angeles Times reports. Firefighters fought back the fire significantly last night, containing the 8,700-acre Jesusita blaze in Santa Barbara by 30%. Most of the...

Oprah's House Evacuated as Wildfires Rage

Calif. fires come within a few miles of host's $50m home

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey's mansion in Montecito has been evacuated as wildfires rage a few miles away in Santa Barbara, a source tells Us Weekly. Movers have been seen shifting the talk show host's belongings from the $50 million home. The fires have forced more than 30,500 people from their homes...

Outlook Grim for Calif. Fire as Winds Continue

(Newser) - Poor firefighting conditions today—following a windy night—have allowed the Santa Barbara, Calif., wildfire to grow, and it has now consumed 3,500 acres and 75 homes, KNBC-TV reports. The fire, which has forced 30,000 people to flee their homes, is just 10% contained. Winds today are expected...

Morning Winds Stoke Raging Calif. Wildfires

Firefighters unable to get blaze under control as 30,000 evacuate

(Newser) - Early-morning winds kicked up the uncontrolled Jesusita fire in the hills of Santa Barbara, causing the evacuation of thousands more residents, reports the Los Angeles Times. The fire has now burned more than 2,800 acres, destroyed dozens of homes, and forced 30,000 people to evacuate. Gov. Schwarzenegger has...

Calif. Fires Destroy Dozens of Homes

Santa Barbara under state of emergency as wildfires scorch hillsides

(Newser) - Raging wildfires in the hills above Santa Barbara have destroyed at least 20 homes and are threatening many more, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some 900 firefighters are battling the wind-driven fires, but are hampered by poor access to the area. Three were hospitalized with burns after flames engulfed their...

1,200 Homes Evacuated as Calif. Wildfire Slows

Wind could pick up later today

(Newser) - Helicopters dropping water during the night and calmer wind this morning are helping crews hold back a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of 1,200 California homes. An early start to the state's annual wildfire siege, the fire has burned 196 acres of brush and threatened some 2,000...

After Record US Drought, Bleak Summer Looms

Texas farmers fear poor crops, Calif. preps for increased wildfires

(Newser) - The first two months of this year have been the driest on record in the US, foreshadowing a summer of poor crops and brutal wildfires. Texas farmers have delayed planting corn and cotton, while cattle ranchers have sold off cows they can no longer feed. “It might take me...

Careless Students' Bonfire Started Montecito Blaze

Sheriff not sure bonfire builders will be charged

(Newser) - A group of students who failed to completely put out a hilltop bonfire apparently caused the destructive Montecito fire, a Santa Barbara sheriff told the Los Angeles Times. The blaze destroyed 210 homes and injured at least 25 people last week. A district attorney will decide whether to charge the...

SoCal Residents Return to Charred Homes

(Newser) - Residents of Yorba Linda, Calif. sifted through their charred belongings today amid 113 houses razed by the so-called "Freeway Complex Fire," the Los Angeles Times reports. Meanwhile fire officials shuttled residents into a mobile home park near the Sylmar fire, which has destroyed 477 houses and 10 commercial...

Stories 321 - 340 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser