Wildfires

Wildfires - California, USA

A massive wildfire destroyed at least 18 homes and threatened 1,500 more as flames churned through tinder-dry canyons north of Los Angeles. The fire on Sunday had gained ferocious new power two days after it broke out, sending so much smoke in the air that planes making drops on it had to be grounded for part of the afternoon.

About 480km up the coast, crews were battling another fire spanning more than 44 square kilometres that destroyed six homes on Sunday and forced evacuations outside the scenic Big Sur region. About 900 firefighters were battling the blaze in temperatures exceeding 41 degrees Celsius, aided by 28 water-dropping helicopters and eight fixed-winged aircraft.

Wildfires - Utah, USA

Battling triple-digit temperatures, crews were close to completing containment lines around a nearly 15,000-acre wildfire on tinder-dry rangelands of the Great Salt Lake's Antelope Island.

Crews adopted a defensive stance at the lightning-caused Lower Ebbs Fire, which had burned 5,000 acres of sage, pinyon and juniper about 4 miles southwest of the Millard County town of Scipio. Fire Information officer Adam Solt said the three-day-old blaze was 15 percent contained, with about 250 firefighters and several air-tankers and helicopters assigned to the battle in the Ebbs and Wild Goose canyons.

The Major Evans Fire, ignited Sunday by a recreational vehicle explosion, had burned 15 acres of steep oak brush and timber terrain northeast of the Tibble Fork Reservoir. Fire Information Officer Kathy Jo Pollock said about 40 firefighters were battling the flames, located at the junction of Major Evans Gulch and North Fork of American Fork Canyon. It was 85 percent contained Monday night.