The firefighter died on Thursday in the El Dorado Fire some 70 miles east of Los Angeles. The blaze began two weeks ago after an expectant couple set off fireworks to reveal the sex of their child.
Record-breaking wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington are still raging, a month after they were ignited by dry lightning storms across the West.
The Bobcat Fire came within 500 feet of the observatory on Tuesday. The same dry, isolated conditions that make Mount Wilson susceptible to fire also made it perfect for stargazing.
The alarming wildfires on the West Coast are again putting the spotlight on climate change. But it's not the only reason why we're seeing so much destruction and lives lost.
A change in weather conditions is being seen as a needed assist for nearly 30,000 fire personnel battling blazes. Authorities are also attempting to debunk online rumors about the cause of the fires.
NPR's Scott Simon recounts what life in California, once the stuff of dreams, has become for too many residents as wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes seem to happen with increasing frequency.
One hundred large fires are burning in 12 states across the West — but just five of them have been contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The U.S. Forest Service said 14 firefighters, overrun by the blaze in Los Padres National Forest, used portable fire shelters. Three were airlifted to a hospital, where one is in critical condition.
SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — California's largest utility shut off power to 172,000 customers to guard against its power lines and other equipment sparking wildfires.
An estimated 45,000 acres are burning in Fresno County, where more than 200 people were rescued overnight as military helicopters plucked the stranded from a reservoir in Sierra National Forest.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Firefighters are doubling down on efforts to surround massive and deadly wildfires in Northern California even as thousands of people are allowed to return home.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A California wildfire has destroyed a sanctuary for the endangered California condor and the fates of several condors, including a chick, remain unknown.
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters aided by weather and reinforcements are hoping to continue their progress against California wildfires that have killed at least seven people and ravaged counties in the San Francisco Bay Area and wine country.
BOULDER CREEK, Calif. (AP) — When a massive wildfire swept through California's oldest state park last week it was feared many trees in a grove of old-growth redwoods — some 2,000 years old and among the tallest living things on Earth — may have finally succumbed.
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Three giant Northern California wildfires are still burning around the San Francisco Bary area and authorities say the death toll has reached seven since they broke out.
Gov. Gavin Newsom says an area the size of Rhode Island is now ablaze in his state. He's looking for help from other states and the federal government.
The possibility of catching or spreading COVID-19 adds a new dimension of risk to the job, both on and off the front lines, and poses new threats to those seeking refuge in temporary shelter.
"We are all experiencing rather extraordinary conditions," Gov. Gavin Newsom says. There are about 15 fires burning in the northern and southern ends of the state.
Two back-to-back wildfires have erupted around Los Angeles. And across the country, major wildfires are burning in a dozen states, including one of the largest in Colorado's history.
