Officials identify driver who crashed into a Texas pipeline and sparked a 4-day fire

The driver of a vehicle that crashed into a pipeline valve and sparked a four-day fire that forced the evacuation of nearby neighborhoods in a Houston suburb was a local 51-year-old man, according to police. Remains found in the SUV following the fire are those of Jonathan McEvoy of...

Wildfires in California have burned 1 million acres so far this year. Heat wave poses more risk

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The total acres burned in California this year surpassed 1 million as spiking temperatures Tuesday added to the challenges facing firefighters struggling to contain a stubborn blaze in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles that flared up over the weekend. ...

A chemical cloud moving around Atlanta's suburbs prompts a new shelter-in-place alert

ATLANTA (AP) — Residents east of Atlanta were again warned Tuesday to take shelter where they are if shifting winds push the still-billowing chemical cloud from a chlorine factory fire over their neighborhood. A shelter-in-place order had just ended Monday evening for Rockdale...

Hundreds of firefighters battle a deadly forest fire raging in southern Greece for the third day

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers in southern Greece battled a wildfire for a third day that has killed two people and devastated a large forested area, prompting pledges of assistance from other European Union countries. Two waterbombing aircraft from...

More than 20 are feared dead after a school bus catches fire in suburban Bangkok

BANGKOK (AP) — A bus carrying young students and their teachers on a school trip caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday, leaving more than 20 feared dead, officials and rescuers said. The bus with 45 passengers — six teachers and 39 elementary and junior high school students...

What to know as Israel says it has launched ground incursion into Lebanon

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said its ground troops crossed into Lebanon overnight, launching what the military described as “localized” raids to root out Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure. Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it saw no sign of Israeli forces and its troops were ready to...

A school bus caught fire outside Bangkok with 25 of those on board feared dead, according to officials and rescuers

Wildfire flareup prompts new evacuations in Southern California mountain communities

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Evacuation orders and warnings were in place Monday for Southern California residents near a wildfire that is largely contained after the blaze flared up over the weekend. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told residents of Seven Oaks to...

Shelter-in-place order for more than 90,000 Georgia residents is lifted after chemical fire

Authorities on Monday night ended a shelter-in-place order for more than 90,000 people east of Atlanta following a weekend chemical plant fire that sent a massive plume of dark smoke into the Georgia sky and led to complaints about a strong chemical smell and haze. The smell had...

As many forests fail to recover from wildfires, replanting efforts face huge odds — and obstacles

BELLVUE, Colo. (AP) — Camille Stevens-Rumann crouched in the dirt and leaned over evergreen seedlings, measuring how much each had grown in seven months. "That's two to three inches of growth on the spruce,” said Stevens-Rumann, interim director at the Colorado Forest Restoration...