At least 1 dead as Hurricane Zeta hammers Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Zeta slammed into the storm-weary Gulf Coast on Wednesday, pelting the New Orleans metro area with rain and howling winds that ripped apart buildings and knocked out power to thousands before rapidly making its way through Mississippi and Alabama with strong gusty winds, heavy...

Evacuation orders lifted for many Californians who fled fire

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of Californians were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday as calmer winds helped firefighters beat back two wind-driven wildfires that had spurred widespread evacuations. Roughly 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate Monday after the wildfires broke out in brushy hills...

Strong typhoon slams Vietnam; at least 2 dead, 26 missing

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Typhoon Molave slammed into Vietnam with destructive force Wednesday, killing at least two people and sinking two fishing boats with 26 crew members in what was feared to be the most powerful storm to hit the country in 20 years. Winds of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour...

Utility: Winds too weak to cut power before California fire

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included hurricane-level winds, the main utility in Northern California cut power to nearly 1 million people while its counterpart in Southern California pulled the plug on just 30 customers to prevent power lines and other electrical...

Gulf Coast braces, again, for hurricane as Zeta takes aim

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Residents of the storm-pummeled Gulf Coast steeled themselves Tuesday for yet another tropical weather strike as Tropical Storm Zeta took aim at southeast Louisiana, fraying the nerves of evacuees from earlier storms and raising concerns in New Orleans about the low-lying city’s...

Utility says its equipment may have sparked California blaze

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California Edison said its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuation orders for some 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters on Monday as powerful winds across the state prompted power to be cut to hundreds of thousands to prevent...

Vietnam evacuating low-lying areas as strong typhoon nears

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam scrambled Tuesday to evacuate more than a million people in its central lowlands as a strong typhoon approached while some regions are still dealing with the aftermath of recent killer floods, state media said. Typhoon Molave is forecast to slam into Vietnam’s south...

Officials say 60,000 people told to evacuate as wind-driven wildfire grows fast in Southern California’s Orange County

California girds for most dangerous fire weather of year

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California, which has endured its worst wildfire season in history, is bracing for the most dangerous winds of the year, a forecast that prompted the largest utility to announce plans to cut power Sunday to nearly 1 million people to guard against its equipment sparking new blazes....

Colorado wildfires drag on later than normal, break records

DENVER (AP) — Orange skies, winds gusting up to 70 mph, smoke tornadoes and hazardous air. While it could be an apocalyptic scene out of a movie, it has become the reality of Colorado's wildfire season. The blazes have burned the second-most acreage since 2000 and included the state's two largest on...