An abandoned campfire sparked California’s largest and most destructive wildfire this year.
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About 400 local, state and federal firefighters are working the blaze.
One method of reducing fire risk is prescribed burns whereby forest workers set a controlled fire to burn up excess brush that would otherwise speed the spread of wildfires.
On the outskirts of Los Angeles, crews had almost surrounded a 65-square-mile blaze that killed one man and destroyed 18 homes.
The blaze that broke out July 22 has destroyed 57 homes and is threatening 2,000 additional structures. It spread quickly and prompted the evacuation of an RV and tent campground off Highway 128 near Lake Berryessa and the Napa Valley.
Firefighters are setting up sprinkler systems to protect buildings in a central Idaho town after a wildfire expanded to 75 square miles.
As many as 510 fire engines, 51 water tankers, 72 bulldozers, 17 helicopters, six air tankers, and more than 5,400 firefighters have been deployed to battle and contain the fire. About 350 residents have been ordered to evacuate the area, some evacuation orders have since been lifted.
Burning in Fresno County, the Goose fire remained at 2,241 acres Thursday and was 80% contained.
The blaze, about the size of San Francisco, has also scared away tourists who are cancelling bookings after fire officials warned that crews will likely be battling a wildfire raging in steep, forested ridges just to the north for another month. Higher humidity and lower temperatures on Monday he… However, hotter and drier weather with the possibility of thunderstorms is expected beginning Friday and through the weekend.
Residents of about 630 homes southwest of Hamilton were under evacuation orders Tuesday.
Authorities said firefighters increased containment to 60 per cent.
About 800 firefighters were battling a series of fires that had threatened a tribal town and hamlets near Pyramid Lake, north of Reno.
The 4.5-square-mile blaze started Saturday in steep, rugged terrain. Officials say they don’t yet know how many structures have burned or the amount of land.
Residents of about 30 homes in Cottonwood Creek and Fish Springs Ranch were warned they would receive 30 minutes notice to evacuate if necessary.
In western Wyoming, firefighters are trying to gain better control of several other large wildfires.
The Soberanes Fire is also now the top firefighting priority in the state, officials said.
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A Santa Barbara County firefighter lights a bush on fire with a flare while holding a wildfire from crossing a fire break on the India Division near Cachagua in east Carmel Valley, Calif., on Wednesday, August 3, 2016. It was about 10 percent contained.
