Wildfire Threatening Nevada Town

Firefighters still trying to contain blazes fed by Tropical Storm Lee

(AP) - More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas, most of them in one devastating blaze near Austin that is still raging out of control, officials said today. Gov. Rick Perry, who cut short a presidential campaign trip to South Carolina to return to Texas, toured a blackened area near Bastrop, about 25 miles from Austin, where a fast-moving blaze destroyed nearly 600 homes yesterday. More»

Hundreds evacuated; kennel fire claims dogs

(NEWSER) - Wildfires continued their blaze across West Texas today, though calmer winds allowed firefighters to make some headway. The weekend brought fierce gusts that carried the fires across 120,000 acres, reducing 80 homes to ashes and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents. Firefighters, support helicopters, and tanker planes are mounting a coordinated assault on the fires, but it may take days to get some of them under control. More»

Pair drives off road as flames consume national forest

(NEWSER) - Two California firefighters drove off a treacherous road to their death as they helped battle a 43,000-acre inferno in the Angeles National Forest, reports the Los Angeles Times. More than 2,800 firefighters, 12 helicopters and eight air tankers have converged on the area where the blaze now threatens some 13,000 homes in Los Angeles County. The blaze is only 5% contained, and has already destroyed 18 homes. More»

(NEWSER) - The first major California wildfire of the season has consumed over 5,000 acres in Santa Cruz County and won't be fully contained for a week, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Over a thousand firefighters are battling the blaze in rugged terrain that hadn't had a major fire in over 50 years, and a hot, dry, windy weekend is expected to make their job tougher. More»

Firefighters unable to get blaze under control as 30,000 evacuate

(NEWSER) - Early-morning winds kicked up the uncontrolled Jesusita fire in the hills of Santa Barbara, causing the evacuation of thousands more residents, reports the Los Angeles Times. The fire has now burned more than 2,800 acres, destroyed dozens of homes, and forced 30,000 people to evacuate. Gov. Schwarzenegger has declared an emergency, saying, “We are 100% behind the people of Santa Barbara.” More»