California Fire

Firefighters advance against blaze in California ahead of warming weather

Fire crews worked Tuesday to hold on to the progress made against the largest blaze in California this year ahead of warming temperatures forecast for later this week. Authorities said containment was 14 per cent and lifted evacuation orders in some communities of Butte County, where the Park Fire started last week before spreading to a neighbouring county and scorching an area bigger than Los Angeles. The massive fire continues to burn through rugged, inaccessible terrain with dense vegetation, threatening to spread to two other counties. That's going to be a continued challenge for us moving forward over the next couple of days," said Mark Brunton, an operations section chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Park Fire, now the fifth largest in the state's recorded history, was one of more than 100 large active wildfires burning in the US on Tuesday. It has scorched nearly 600 square miles (1,551 square kilometres), according to CAL Fire. For ...

Updated On : 31 Jul 2024 | 7:05 AM IST

Hurricane Hilary grows rapidly off Mexico, storm watch in California

Hurricane Hilary grew rapidly into Category 4 strength off Mexico's Pacific coast on Friday and could reach Southern California as the first tropical storm there in 84 years, which forecasters warned could cause extreme flooding, mudslides and even tornados. Hilary had sustained winds near 145 mph (230 kph) early Friday, and was expected to strengthen a bit more before starting to weaken. Nevertheless, it was forecast to still be a hurricane when approaching Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Saturday night, and a tropical storm when approaching Southern California on Sunday. The National Hurricane Center on Friday issued its first ever tropical storm watch for much of Southern California, covering a wide swath of the region from the coast to the interior mountains and deserts. No tropical storm has made landfall in Southern California since Sept. 25, 1939, according to the National Weather Service. The watch warned of numerous potential threats to life and property including ...