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    Windy Conditions Fan Forsyth Fire in Utah

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    The Forsyth fire in Utah threatened a small community in the state’s southwest corner. Farther west, the Conner fire burned rapidly near Lake Tahoe.A wildfire in southwestern Utah destroyed 17 homes, and threatened hundreds more, as it grew to more than 1,500 acres on Friday night, the authorities said.The blaze, known as the Forsyth fire, burned just north of St. George, a city near the state’s borders with Nevada and Arizona and about 30 minutes from Zion National Park. The damage was concentrated in Pine Valley, a community of just over 300 people about 40 minutes north of St. George.Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency personnel responded to Pine Valley on Thursday when the fire broke out, but a quick change in the winds on Friday led to the destruction of homes, Sheriff Nate Brooksby of Washington County said on Facebook.“The firefighters were shocked,” Sheriff Brooksby said. “I could see it in their eyes. They gave it all they had, and still lost to mother nature.”All the residents of Pine Valley had been ordered to evacuate and members of the public were advised to stay away until the fire was contained, the sheriff’s office said.Red flag winds, those averaging 15 miles per hour or greater during dry conditions, continue to drive the fire, according to Utah Fire Info, an interagency team for public information regarding wildfires.According to the agency, 150 personnel had been deployed to fight the fire and 400 structures remained under threat. The cause of the fire remained under investigation.About 500 miles west, in Douglas County, Nev., roughly 25 miles east of Lake Tahoe, the Conner fire exploded to almost 14,000 acres, from 2,000 acres on Friday.The fire started as a structure fire, according to the Bureau of Land Management of Nevada, spreading quickly in windy conditions as dry brush and grass fueled its growth.Resources from federal, state and local agencies from Nevada and California were responding to the fire and almost 500 emergency workers were involved in attempts to contain it. Evacuations had been ordered.Images shared on social media showed plumes of smoke from the Conner fire that were visible from Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation destination that straddles California and Nevada and is home to hiking trails, campgrounds and cabins.Wildfire risk remained high as large sections of the United States were expected to experience a heat wave over the weekend.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sections of the country encompassing parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming were at critical risk of wildfires. More

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      Colorado Snowboarder Becomes Fourth Avalanche Victim in a Week

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      The victim was traveling on a terrain feature known as The Nose near Silverton, Colo., when the avalanche occurred on Thursday, officials said.A backcountry snowboarder was killed in an avalanche on Thursday in a remote part of southwestern Colorado, the fourth person to die in a mountain slide this week in the western United States following several winter storms.The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said that the victim was traversing a terrain feature known as The Nose, near Silverton, Colo., when the person got caught in the avalanche.A skier who was with the snowboarder escaped the avalanche, the authorities said.Emergency responders used a helicopter to try to rescue the snowboarder, but the person did not survive, the center said. Rescuers were alerted about the avalanche by the staff from a nearby backcountry hut.The avalanche added to what has been a deadly week in the West.On Monday, two skiers were caught in an avalanche in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, one that occurred at a height of 6,700 feet on a south-facing slope. Their bodies were recovered on Tuesday.Also on Monday, an avalanche claimed the life of a backcountry skier in California near Lake Tahoe.The Sierra Avalanche Center said that the skier was traveling alone when he triggered the avalanche, which carried him downslope over rocks and through trees. The victim was buried beneath more than four feet of snow against a tree, the center said. More

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      California Faces Heavy Rain and Flooding From Coastal Storm

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      Los Angeles had received one to two inches of rain as of Saturday morning. Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming were also expected to get significant precipitation this weekend.An unseasonably cold and vigorous storm system was cutting through the southwestern Pacific Coast this weekend, bringing rain, flash flooding and snow to parts of California and other states, forecasters said.The National Weather Service in San Diego had issued a flash flood warning on Saturday morning, cautioning the public about potential flooding in the southwestern part of the state.The storm was expected to continue moving along the coast and, eventually, inland.“This storm is going to have an impact all the way across the country, but right now the storm center is off the California coast,” said Bob Smerbeck, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “There’s going to be some flooding issues, mudslides and debris. People should keep their guard up.”The storm was coming off the coast of California and was expected to shift south and eastward on Saturday or Sunday, creating the risk of flash flooding in Southern California, said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md.Los Angeles had received one to two inches of rain as of Saturday morning, and in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, the rainfall amounts were two to four inches, Ms. Santorelli said.The Transverse Ranges and Sierra Nevada could get heavy snowfall, Ms. Santorelli said. Since this was a fairly cold system, significant snowfall was expected above 6,000 feet, with one to three feet of accumulation, and higher amounts possible above 7,500 feet.Windy conditions were expected to continue, including gusts of 50 to 60 miles per hour above 5,000 feet through Saturday morning, the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service wrote on Saturday.Strong winds, combined with the heavy snow, could produce short-term blizzard conditions in the mountain areas, forecasters said. Winter storm warnings were in effect for most of the mountains through Sunday evening.California is expected to dry out by Monday, Mr. Smerbeck said, but the storm will continue to move into Arizona over the weekend. Western Arizona was expected to experience heavy rain overnight on Saturday and into Sunday.Arizona was under a wind advisory from noon until 10 p.m. Saturday. The south-central and southwestern portions of Arizona could get a quarter of an inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service in Phoenix.The storm was also expected to bring significant precipitation to parts of Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. As of Saturday, AccuWeather was forecasting a foot of snow in Flagstaff, Ariz. More