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California’s largest wildfire of year grows as thousands ordered to evacuate

Published

2 years ago

July 26, 2024

California’s largest wildfire of year grows as thousands ordered to evacuate

The largest wildfire that California has seen this year grew again overnight, as thousands of residents remained under evacuation orders on Friday, and numerous structures have been destroyed as people flee flames licking above the tree line.

As of Friday morning, the fire, known as the Park fire and described as particularly aggressive, has burned more than 160,000 acres over Butte and Tehama counties in the north of the state in two days, officials say, and was only 3% contained.

During a press conference on Thursday, local officials from Butte county said that there had been two minor injuries due to the fire, and said that numerous structures had been destroyed. Videos from local news agencies show entire landscapes, homes and cars engulfed by flames and smoke, while people rush to flee the area.

Officials say the fire started on Wednesday. A 42-year-old California man was arrested on Thursday and accused of starting the fire by pushing a burning car into a gully.

The car went down an embankment approximately 60ft, officials said, and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park fire.

“The fire quickly began to outpace our resources because of the dry fuels, the hot weather, the low humidities and the wind” said the Butte county fire chief, Garrett Sjolund.

Evacuation orders were issued in parts of those counties, and the sheriff of Butte county, Kory Honea, said in the news conference on Thursday that approximately 4,000 residents, including in the communities of Cohasset and Forest Ranch and other areas in north-east Chico, had so far been impacted by the evacuation orders.

More than 1,000 personnel are working to contain the flames, officials said.

“It is maddening that we are here again” Honea said. “And it is particularly maddening that this particular fire was caused by an individual.”

Firefighters across North America are working intensively to contain other wildfires across the region, including in Washington, Oregon and other states, as well as parts of Canada, as heatwaves reaching record-breaking temperatures continue.

The Durkee fire in Oregon, which started on 17 July and quickly became the largest active fire in the US, was 20% contained as of Thursday night, per officials. It has so far burned more than 280,000 acres.

As of Friday morning, parts of California, Oregon, Montana, Nebraska and Idaho remained under the National Weather Service’s red flag warning, meaning that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly.

Air quality alerts are in effect in areas of Arizona, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Nebraska due to wildfire smoke. Parts of Colorado saw wildfire smoke in their skies this week, but conditions appear to have improved as of Friday.

The National Weather Service has also issued fire weather watch warnings –meaning that there is a potential for critical fire weather conditions – for areas of Utah beginning on Saturday.

As of Thursday morning, the National Interagency Fire Center had reported 89 large active wildfires that were being managed across the country. The fires had, by Thursday, burned more than 1.6m acres, with many of the fires in the north-west of the US exhibiting “extreme fire behavior”.

News

Map: Earthquake Shakes Central California

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Map: Earthquake Shakes Central California

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

A minor earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.5 struck in Central California on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 7:17 a.m. Pacific time about 6 miles northwest of Pinnacles, Calif., data from the agency shows.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Monday, March 2 at 10:20 a.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Monday, March 2 at 11:18 a.m. Eastern.

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US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

The U.S. and Israel have been conducting strikes against targets in Iran since Saturday morning, with the aim of toppling Tehran’s clerical regime. Iran has fired back, with retaliatory assaults featuring missiles and drones targeting several Gulf countries and American bases in the Middle East.

“All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” Central Command said.

“The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” it added.

In a separate statement later Monday, Central Command said that American forces had been killed during combat since the strikes began.

“As of 7:30 am ET, March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action. The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries,” it said.

Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” Central Command added.

This story has been updated.

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Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Published

16 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.

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Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

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Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.

U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.

An image captured on February 28 shows a ship burning at Iran's naval base at Konarak.

An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.

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Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.

Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.

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And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

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Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.

Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”

A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

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