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    Saturday, May 11, 2024

    California wildfires burn amid high risk of brutal blazes

    The Ranch Fire burns over a residential area, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Azusa, Calif. Heat wave conditions were making difficult work for fire crews battling brush fires and wildfires across Southern California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bone-dry vegetation fueled three wildfires near Los Angeles amid warnings Friday that the risk of new blazes erupting was high as temperatures spike and humidity levels drop during a statewide heat wave.

    A huge forest fire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles was just 12% contained and after threatening more than 5,400 homes, it had charred more than 18 square miles of brush and trees.

    Cooler overnight temperatures helped firefighters increase containment, but the forecast called for hot, dry weather with dangerous fire conditions because of possible gusty winds, officials said.

    Record-breaking heat is possible through the weekend, with triple-digit temperatures and unhealthy air predicted for many parts of the state.

    Preliminary damage assessments found that at least five buildings burned in the Lake Hughes area north of Los Angeles, but authorities said they believed more had been damaged or destroyed.

    There was no containment of a blaze that blackened foothills above the Los Angeles suburb of Azusa. It churned through nearly 4 square miles of brush on Thursday and was moving away from homes. Evacuation orders issued to residents were lifted early Friday.

    Another blaze came dangerously close to a neighborhood in the city of Corona, east of Los Angeles, before crews controlled it. And a Northern California fire in the community of Sloughhouse, near Sacramento, burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) before firefighters stopped its forward spread.

    Motorists make their way along a road as the Ranch Fire burns, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Azusa, Calif. Heat wave conditions were making difficult work for fire crews battling brush fires and wildfires across Southern California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
    A cyclist rides along a trail as the Ranch Fire burns, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Azusa, Calif. Heat wave conditions were making difficult work for fire crews battling brush fires and wildfires across Southern California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
    Cyclists rest along a trail as the Ranch Fire burns, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Azusa, Calif. Heat wave conditions were making difficult work for fire crews battling brush fires and wildfires across Southern California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
    An air tanker drops retardant as the Lake Fire burns in the Angeles National Forest north of Santa Clarita, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    A helicopter prepares to drop water on the Lake Fire burning in the Angeles National Forest north of Santa Clarita, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    Los Angeles County firefighter Brad Auman fills a water tank while helping battle the Lake Fire in the Angeles National Forest north of Santa Clarita, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. The beach ball is used to prevent air from entering intake hoses while refilling fire engine water tanks. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    A super scooper water-dropping aircraft passes a plume of smoke as the Lake Fire burns in the Angeles National Forest north of Santa Clarita, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    A super scooper drops water to stop the Lake Fire from spreading in the Angeles National Forest north of Santa Clarita, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    A burned vehicle rests along Pine Canyon Rd. as the Lake Fire burns in the Angeles National Forest, Calif., north of Santa Clarita on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. An enormous plume of smoke was visible across much of Southern California after the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in dense forest land. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    A burned vehicle rests along Pine Canyon Rd. as the Lake Fire burns in the Angeles National Forest, Calif., north of Santa Clarita on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
    Tiger Wiggles, 57, with his dogs wait to go back home during the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, north of Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
    A burned vehicle is seen at a home destroyed by the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, north of Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
    Burned vehicles are seen at a home destroyed by the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, north of Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
    Burned vehicles are seen in the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, north of Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

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