At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoia trees were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service. The Visalia Times-Delta obtained a copy of the report that...
1K LA Residents Still Under Evacuation Orders Amid Wildfire
LOS ANGELES — About 1,000 Los Angeles residents remained under evacuation orders Monday as firefighters protected canyon homes from a smoky wildfire that churned through vegetation that hasn't burned in half a century. The cause of the fire in steep, inaccessible terrain near Topanga State Park has been deemed “suspicious”...
Calmer Winds Help Firefighters Beat Back Orange County Blazes
LOS ANGELES — Calmer weather on Wednesday allowed firefighters to beat back twin blazes that drove nearly 100,000 Southern California residents from their homes amid fierce winds and extremely dry conditions. Authorities lifted some evacuation orders Tuesday as winds began subsiding and containment was increased for the massive wildfires in...
60,000 in Orange County Ordered to Evacuate After Blaze Grows
LOS ANGELES — A fast-moving wildfire forced evacuation orders for 60,000 people in Southern California on Monday as powerful winds across the state prompted power to be cut to hundreds of thousands to prevent utility equipment from sparking new blazes. The smoky fire exploded in size to over 3 square...
‘Totally Inadequate’: Most Californians in Wildfire-Prone Counties Aren’t Signed up for Emergency Alerts
Tracey Aldrich had never heard of CodeRED, Butte County’s opt-in emergency notification system, until she came upon a roadblock leading up to her mother’s house in August. At the roadblock, police told her a firestorm was bearing down on her mother’s neighborhood in Berry Creek. Neither she nor her mother...
California Wildfires Are Larger Than Ever, but Not Deadlier
SAN FRANCISCO — With months still to go in California’s fire season, the state has already shattered records for the amount of land scorched in a single year — more than 4 million acres to date, with one blaze alone surpassing the 1 million-acre mark. Five of the 10 largest...
Epic Scale of California Wildfires Continues to Grow
SAN FRANCISCO — The staggering scale of California's wildfires reached another milestone Monday: A single fire surpassed 1 million acres. The new mark for the August Complex in the Coast Range between San Francisco and the Oregon border came a day after the total area of land burned by California...
Desert Homes Threatened by Enormous California Wildfire
JUNIPER HILLS — An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert was still threatening homes on Monday, but officials said calmer winds could help crews corral the flames. At 165 square miles, the Bobcat Fire is one of the largest ever in...
‘Don’t Think Science Knows,’ Trump Says in Sacramento About Climate Change
SACRAMENTO — With the smell of California wildfires in the air, President Donald Trump on Monday ignored the scientific consensus that climate change is playing a central role in historic West Coast infernos and renewed his unfounded claim that poor forest management is mostly to blame. The fires are threatening...
10 Dead as California Fire Becomes Deadliest of Year
GRIDLEY — The terrible toll of California's wildfires became more evident as a mother confirmed her 16-year-old son was among those killed when an inferno tore through several hamlets in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada this week. Jessica Williams, who earlier pleaded for her missing son Josiah to call...