California declared a state of emergency Tuesday after a wildfire near Los Angeles has burned more than 37,000 acres, and another in Big Sur has burned more than 23,000 acres, officials said.
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He was visiting a friend in Santa Clarita, where a wildfire has burned 18 homes.
Evacuation centers were established at Highland High School at 39055 25th Street West in Palmdale; at Hart High School at 24825 Newhall Ave.in Santa Clarita; and at Lakeview Terrace Recreation Center at 11075 Foothill Drive in Sylmar.
The coroner’s office, meanwhile, identified a man whose burned body was found in a auto in the driveway of a house.
No homes have been lost so far.
In neighboring Bridger-Teton National Forest, a fire grew to 26 square miles and was partially contained.
BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) – California’s signature parks along the Big Sur coastline that draw thousands of daily visitors were closed Tuesday as one of the state’s two major wildfires threatened the scenic region at the height of the summer tourism season.
Weber says a total of about 7,500 people a day visit the affected parks.
Closures also include the Point Sur lighthouse park, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve and Garrapata State Park.
About 3,000 firefighters have been fighting to contain the so called Sand Fire on the rugged northwestern fringes of the Los Angeles National Forest since Friday.
Fire and law enforcement officials repeatedly urged residents to evacuate when ordered, or even earlier.
The fire was just 10 percent contained on Monday evening as crews backed by bulldozers labored to hack buffer lines around its perimeter as it cast a pall of smoke and soot over a wide area.
As thousands of evacuated residents of the fire-ravaged Santa Clarita area were allowed back to their homes Tuesday, officials decried the chaos caused by some people who ignored orders to leave as deadly flames approached.
Most of the roughly 20,000 evacuees forced out by a wildfire were cleared to go home, but firefighters still have huge work ahead Tuesday in taming a massive wildfire northwest of Los Angeles.
BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) – The operator of a bulldozer was killed when it rolled over during the fight against a wildfire near Big Sur that has destroyed 20 homes and spread across more than 36 square miles (93.24 sq. kilometers), California fire officials said Wednesday.
It marked his first look at the charred remains since fleeing the fire, which has now scorched 55 square miles.
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Residents of two neighbourhoods still under threat had to remain out of their homes, the US Forest Service said.
