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    Silver Fire in California Prompts Evacuations

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    Efforts to battle the 1,250-acre fire in eastern California were complicated by strong winds, which were expected to continue through Monday.A wildfire in eastern California that ignited on Sunday has spread to 1,250 acres and has prompted evacuations, state fire officials said.The wildfire, named the Silver fire, began around 2:11 p.m. north of Bishop, a city about halfway between Yosemite National Park and Death Valley National Park, according to Cal Fire, the state fire agency.The agency shared photos on social media that showed bright flames and clouds of smoke burning a grassy, rural area below towering mountain ranges.Timelapse video from an ALERTCalifornia camera showed plumes of smoke rising from the Silver fire on Sunday afternoon.ALERTCalifornia/UC San Diego via StoryfulStrong winds helped intensify the fire overnight, Cal Fire said on social media Monday morning, adding that it had “significantly increased” resources to stifle the blaze. “The fire is actively threatening structures, critical infrastructure, endangered species habitats, watersheds, and cultural and heritage resources,” the agency said.Officials ordered evacuations in parts of Inyo County and Mono County and closed a 30-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 6. The fire was zero percent contained, and there were no known injuries from the fire as of late Sunday night, according to Cal Fire.On Sunday, efforts to fight the fast-moving fire were complicated by strong winds that grounded some aircraft, Cal Fire said.The National Weather Service said a high wind warning was still in place in the region on Monday morning and would remain through the evening. The Weather Service warned that gusts could reach up to 65 miles per hour and that strong winds could blow down power lines and trees. More

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      What to Know About the Wildfires in California

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      The state has had more than 3,500 wildfires this year, and the peak of the annual fire season has yet to arrive.Californians are once again thinking about the familiar perils of deadly wildfires as high temperatures and winds have made for an active early fire season.In recent weeks, more than 3,500 wildfires have erupted across California, the nation’s most populous state, from its northern boundary with Oregon to the Mexican border. Tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes, including most residents in the city of Oroville last week.After two relatively calm fire years, Californians fear that the blazes will be more intense this summer and fall, threatening towns and polluting the air with smoke up and down the West Coast. Here’s what to know.What’s the latest on the most intense fires?On Friday, the Lake fire started in the grassy hills of the Los Padres National Forest, about 50 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. In mere days, it has burned almost 29,000 acres and has become the state’s largest wildfire so far this year, according to Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency.The fire initially drew attention because it threatened the property formerly known as Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Firefighters made early progress controlling the fire line and keeping it away from the ranch and other properties in the hills, but strong winds have continued to push the blaze southeast.Most of the fire has been in rural, rugged terrain, officials say, and it was 16 percent contained as of Wednesday. But it has still forced about 440 people to evacuate, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, while more than 1,100 are under evacuation warnings.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      13,000 Are Ordered to Evacuate as Wildfire Spreads in Northern California

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      A wildfire that began in Butte County, Calif., on Tuesday morning has burned more than 3,000 acres and threatened residents of the city of Oroville.The authorities in Northern California ordered about 13,000 people in Butte County to evacuate on Tuesday night as a wildfire spread, burning more than 3,000 acres as of Wednesday morning.California’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire, said that the fire began on Tuesday morning and that its cause was under investigation. It was not clear how many structures had been damaged by the blaze, called the Thompson fire, but photos showed several homes and vehicles engulfed in flames. No fatalities had been reported as of Wednesday morning.Sheriff Kory Honea of Butte County said at a news conference on Tuesday night that about 13,000 people had been ordered to evacuate. Many of the evacuation orders affected the city of Oroville, Calif., which is about 68 miles north of Sacramento and has a population of about 20,000 people.Track Wildfires in the U.S.See where wildfires are currently burning.The fire risk in Northern California has been made worse this week by low humidity and gusty winds, which can cause fires to rapidly spread. Red flag fire warnings, meaning that the risk for wildfires is heightened by weather conditions, were in place in more than a dozen counties on Tuesday and Wednesday.There is also a dangerous heat wave in Northern California, with temperatures on Wednesday expected to reach 110 and higher in cities including Sacramento, Chico and Redding. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning that affects most of Northern California, including Oroville.Butte County was the site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. The Camp fire in 2018 killed at least 85 people and destroyed more than 90 percent of the homes in Paradise, a small town about 20 miles north of Oroville.Last week, residents of the nearby town of Palermo were ordered to evacuate because of the Apache fire, which burned 691 acres and has been contained. More