Cooler weather in Southern California helps in wildfire battle

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of firefighters aided by cooler weather made progress Saturday against three Southern California wildfires, and officials in northern Nevada were hopeful that almost all evacuees from a blaze there could soon be home. Authorities have started scaling...

Hawaii wildfire victims made it just blocks before becoming trapped by flames, report says

HONOLULU (AP) — The wind pushed flames from house to house as a group of neighbors tried to escape their blazing subdivision, abandoning their cars in a blocked road and running to an industrial outbuilding for safety. All six perished just blocks from their homes. The group,...

Firefighters gain ground on 3 huge Southern California blazes

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Helped by cooler temperatures, firefighters gained ground Friday against three blazes in Southern California and authorities began scaling back evacuation orders that displaced thousands of people. The largest is the Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles, which has...

Report finds 'no evidence' Hawaii officials prepared for wildfire that killed 102 despite warnings

HONOLULU (AP) — Investigators reviewing the emergency response to last year's wildfire that killed 102 people on Maui said in a report released Friday they found “no evidence” Hawaii officials made preparations for it, despite days of warnings that critical fire weather was coming. ...

Things to know about about the deadly wildfire that destroyed the Maui town of Lahaina

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii officials didn't prepare for dangerous fire weather in the days before flames incinerated the historic Maui town of Lahaina even though they were warned by meteorologists, the state's attorney general said Friday. The finding came in a 518-page report...

Report finds 'no evidence' Hawaii officials took steps to prevent wildfire that killed 102 despite days of warnings

A scenic California mountain town walloped by a blizzard is now threatened by wildfire

RUNNING SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — In the Southern California mountain town of Running Springs, residents live between two scenic lake resorts — a seemingly serene spot but one also caught between the swings of devastating winter snowstorms and menacing summer wildfires. Niko Rynard...

An earthquake shakes the Los Angeles area as wildfires rage nearby

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As wildfires raging in the mountains cast an orange glow behind the downtown Los Angeles skyline, Southern California residents were jolted awake Thursday by another reminder of Mother Nature's might. It was an all-too-familiar feeling for locals when a 4.7...

Wildfires in Southern California torch dozens of homes and force thousands to evacuate

WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Three major wildfires in Southern California's mountains east of Los Angeles torched dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate, officials said Wednesday. At least a dozen people, mainly firefighters, were treated for injuries that were...

Brazil's Lula pledges to finish paving road that experts say could worsen Amazon deforestation

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — In a visit to see the damage caused by drought and fire in the Amazon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pledged to pave a road that environmentalists and some in his own government say threatens to vastly increase destruction of the world’s largest tropical forest...