Latest in California wildfires

It seemed like fires popped up everywhere in Southern California on Tuesday: Topanga, Glendale, Acton, Riverside, San Diego. Most of them were quickly extinguished, but the each one likely rattled nerves of local residents who have been looking at images of the bigger fires that sparked Monday in Orange County. The…

UPDATED on Monday at 7 p.m.: As of Monday evening, two wind-driven fires that sparked earlier in the day in Orange County had nearly doubled in size. The Silverado Fire, which started near the canyon of the same name had blown up from 4,000 acres midday to 7,200 acres by nightfall. There were 500 firefighters deployed…

Update The Trump Administration has reversed its decision to reject California’s request for wildfire disaster relief funds. "Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request,” tweeted California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Grateful for his quick response." The reversal was…

On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed the growing chorus of Californians who complain the state is headed in the wrong direction and say they’re ready to leave for good. “I’ve lived here half a century,” said the governor, “and heard this pretty much every decade.” “I’d just encourage folks who are…

Even in a year of records, this one is eye-popping: The August Complex Fire, which long ago became the state’s largest ever, has now scorched over 1 million acres since it was sparked by lightning on August 10. The 1 million acres destroyed by this single fire complex is far more than average total area burned across…

A wildfire with a “dangerous rate of spread” broke out in Napa County Sunday morning, with the area facing extreme wildfire conditions including dry, hot winds from the east/northeast. California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the winds are expected to die down overnight. But Much of Northern California is…

A wildfire with a “dangerous rate of spread” broke out in Napa County this morning, with the Bay Area facing extreme wildfire conditions. The Glass Fire blaze began around 4 a.m. Sunday between Calistoga and St. Helena. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation order for various neighborhoods in the…

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday issued an emergency proclamation for the counties of Los Angeles, Del Norte and Mendocino to bolster the response to various fires which have burned thousands of acres, destroyed homes and caused the evacuation of residents. In Los Angeles, the Bobcat Fire had burned close to…

In what has become a familiar story to Southern Californians, U.S. Forest Service officials are investigating an equipment issue experienced by power provider Southern California Edison as the possible ignition point of the Bobcat Fire. The blaze is the third-largest ever recorded in Los Angeles County. While the the…

UPDATED with latest: After a week of very little progress, firefighters gained real ground on Tuesday night against what has become the third-largest fire ever recorded in Los Angeles. The Bobcat Fire moderated overnight allowing crews to complete defensive firing operations from Highway 2 to Mt. Wilson, creating a…

Joe Biden went on offense in advance of Donald Trump’s visit to California on Monday, as the Democratic nominee blasted the president as a “climate arsonist” who is ignoring science and how it relates to extreme wildfires out west and natural disasters elsewhere. “If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that, as of this time last year, 118,000 acres had been burned by wildfires. So far in 2020, the state has seen 2.3 million acres burned. “We’re just entering into fire season this year,” said the governor, and this is already “the largest fire season we’ve had in recent…