California

LOS ANGELES, July 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A week-old wildfire in Northern California continued to pose a threat to buildings Tuesday while firefighters increased containment of two other big forest fires in the region.

The Salt Fire in the Shasta Lake area north of Redding grew to more than 50.2 square kilometers and was just 20% contained, Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials said.

Priorities for the 1,400 firefighters included providing structure defense in the northwestern and southeastern areas of the fire, which has destroyed 41 buildings, including 27 homes.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 27-year-old man was charged Saturday with illegally transporting tons of explosives he purchased in Nevada — including several that left a trail of destruction and injuries after they blew up in a Los Angeles neighborhood.

Arturo Ceja III faces the federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters were making progress Friday against Northern California forest fires that burned several homes and forced thousands to flee communities even as authorities prepared for a hot, crowded Fourth of July weekend that could bring the threat of new blazes.

Three wildfires near the towering Mount Shasta volcano an hour’s drive from the Oregon border have burned around 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) of brush and timber.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires fueled by bone-dry brush and timber surged through Northern California forests on Friday, burning several homes and forcing thousands to flee mountain communities even as authorities prepared for a hot, crowded Fourth of July weekend that could bring the threat of new blazes.

Three wildfires near the towering Mount Shasta volcano an hour’s drive from the Oregon border had burned around 50 square miles of land — a relatively small figure compared to sweeping, deadly fires of years past that blackened thousands of square miles.

TULELAKE, Calif. (AP) — Ben DuVal knelt in a barren field near the California-Oregon border and scooped up a handful of parched soil as dust devils whirled around him and birds flitted between empty irrigation pipes.

DuVal’s family has farmed the land for three generations, and this summer, for the first time ever, he and hundreds of others who rely on irrigation from a depleted, federally managed lake aren’t getting any water from it at all.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The number of migrant children housed at the Biden administration’s largest emergency shelter for those who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone has dropped by more than 40% since mid-June, a top U.S. official said Monday, touting progress at the facility that has been criticized by child welfare advocates.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Four years ago, California Democrats altered the state’s recall laws in part to slow down the process and try to aid a state senator facing a removal vote over his support for increasing the gas tax.

Now, as Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a recall of his own, they’re trying to change the laws again. This time, though, Democrats want the option to speed things up to take advantage of what they see as favorable conditions for Newsom.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on the changes Monday.

CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) — The chief of the U.S. Border Patrol was forced out of his job Wednesday, after less than two years in a position that lies in the crosshairs of polarizing political debate.

Rodney Scott wrote to agents that he will be reassigned, saying he “will continue working hard to support you over the next several weeks to ensure a smooth transition.”

LOS ANGELES, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Over 20 huge wildfires burning in the state of Arizona on Tuesday have triggered massive evacuations and road closures, the U.S. Forest Service's monitoring system Inciweb reported.

The largest, dubbed the Telegraph Fire and burning in the state's Tonto National Forest, has so far scorched 180,685 acres (731.2 square km) and is 87-percent contained, after growing just 119 acres (0.5 square km) since Sunday, Inciweb updated Tuesday night.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant’s widow has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the pilot and owners of the helicopter that crashed last year, killing the NBA star, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

Vanessa Bryant, her children and relatives of other victims filed a settlement agreement notice Tuesday with a federal judge in Los Angeles but terms of the confidential deal weren’t disclosed.