Western wildfires
Flames from a wildfire consume a car near Oroville, Calif., on Saturday. Evening winds drove the fire through several neighborhoods leveling homes in its path.
OROVILLE, Calif. — Wildfires barreled across the baking landscape of the western U.S. and Canada, destroying a smattering of homes, forcing thousands to flee and temporarily trapping children and counselors at a California campground.
Here’s a look at the wildfires blackening the West.
CALIFORNIA
Two major fires in California have sent nearly 8,000 people fleeing to safety.
About 4,000 people evacuated and another 7,400 were told to prepare to leave their homes as fire swept through grassy foothills in the Sierra Nevada, about 60 miles north of Sacramento, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday.
The fire burned nearly 8 square miles, destroyed at least 10 structures and damaged critical infrastructure, leading Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.
Fire spokeswoman Mary Ann Aldrich said additional homes were destroyed overnight. An inspection team is trying to determine the extent of the damage.
The area was about 10 miles south of Oroville, where spillways in the nation’s tallest dam began crumbling from heavy rains this winter and led to temporary evacuation orders for 200,000 residents downstream.
In Southern California, at least 3,500 people evacuated as two fires exploded in size at separate ends of Santa Barbara County and a third threatened homes near a town in San Luis Obispo County.
One of the fires grew to 12 square miles, traversing a mountain range and heading south toward coastal Goleta.
There was minimal containment and flames shut down State Route 154, which is expected to remain closed for days. At least 20 structures burned.
About 90 children and 50 counselors were stuck Saturday at the Circle V Ranch and had to take shelter until they could be safely evacuated. Buildings have burned but officials weren’t yet sure if they were homes.
Crews also were using an air attack against another blaze about 50 miles north that exploded in size to 37.5 square miles. About 200 rural homes east of Santa Maria were evacuated after the fire broke out Saturday.
Some of the firefighters working to contain that blaze were sent to nearby San Luis Obispo county when a fire broke out Sunday and threatened numerous structures near the town of Santa Margarita. Officials said the fire burned at least 200 acres.
ELSEWHERE IN THE WEST
Firefighters have been able to build containment lines around about half the wildfire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of people near Breckenridge, Colo. The fire has not spread since it broke out Wednesday and was still less than a square mile Sunday.
In rural Arizona, fire officials said three homes were among 10 buildings that burned. The wildfire there has led to the evacuation of the entire town of Dudleyville, about 100 miles southeast of Phoenix.
And in Nevada, fire officials have ordered evacuations for a wildfire near the same area where another blaze has already burned for days.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Firefighters were contending with more than 200 wildfires burning in British Columbia that had destroyed dozens of buildings, including several homes and two airport hangars. The three biggest fires, which ranged in size from 5 to 8 square miles, had forced thousands of people to flee.
Rob Schweizer, manager of the Kamloops Fire Centre, said it had been an unprecedented 24 hours.