Wildfires scorch the West

LOS ANGELES — Smoke filled the sky and ash rained down across Los Angeles on Sunday from a destructive wildfire that the mayor said was the largest in city history — one of several blazes that sent thousands fleeing homes across the U.S. West during a blistering holiday weekend heat wave.

In Oregon, about 140 hikers made it to safety after they were forced to spend the night in the woods after fire broke out along the popular Columbia River Gorge trail, officials said.

On Saturday, search and rescue crews air-dropped supplies as flames prevented the hikers’ escape. Wildfires also entered a 2,700-year-old grove of giant sequoia trees near Yosemite National Park, forced evacuations in Glacier National Park and drove people from homes in parts of the West struggling with blazing temperatures.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared an emergency and Gov. Jerry Brown did the same after the wildfire destroyed homes and threatened hillside neighborhoods. More than a thousand firefighters battled flames on brush-covered mountains as authorities issued evacuation orders for homes in Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale.

Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 90s, but crews got a break from increased humidity and winds that calmed to less than 5 mph, Los Angeles Fire Capt. Ralph Terrazas said.

Associated Press