2025-08-07 12:00:45.846

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Rising temperatures on Wednesday posed new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that injured four people as it became the biggest blaze in the state so far this year. More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles (339 square kilometers) of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. It surpassed the 126-square mile (326-square-kilometer) Madre Fire, which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state’s largest fire of 2025. Smoke from the Gifford Fire fills the sky as the sun sets over Los Padres National Forest, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures in the mid-90s (35 Celsius) on Wednesday and above 100 (38 Celsius) on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. “We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,” Safechuck said Wednesday. “So we expect extreme fire behavior.” Luckily, winds are expected to remain relatively calm, he said. Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland California as the heat wave intensifies. The southern part of the state has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it “ripe to burn,” the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement. Triple-digit temperatures (around 38 Celsius) are forecast for the Sacramento Valley. Firefighters battle the Gifford Fire burning on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Los Padres National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) A dozen major blazes are burning statewide, and officials warn the threat will only grow in August and September, typically the most dangerous months for wildfires. Across the Sierra and northern parts of California, months of little to no rain are “pushing conditions toward critical levels faster than usual,” according to a wildfire forecast by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

2025-04-23 12:03:01.123

A raging wildfire tore through 8,500 acres in New Jersey on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents and the closure of a significant portion of the Garden State Parkway. The Jones Road Wildfire, which started around 11 a.m. in Lacey and Ocean townships, Ocean County, quickly spread, fueled by abnormally dry conditions. Firefighters battled the blaze throughout the night using various resources, including air support and bulldozers, but containment remained low at 10% by 10:46 p.m. Approximately 3,000 residents received evacuation orders, with 1,320 homes and buildings threatened. Emergency shelters were set up for evacuees. Road closures impacted 17 miles of the Garden State Parkway, along with Route 9, Route 532, Lakeside Drive, Jones Road, Bryant Road, and Route 72. Around 25,000 homes and businesses experienced power outages due to preventative measures by Jersey Central Power & Light to ensure firefighter safety. Images showed flames ripping through wooded areas, billowing smoke, and the fire's glow visible from space. No injuries have been reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

2025-04-23 06:00:33.615

A fast-moving wildfire in New Jersey expanded to 8,500 acres Tuesday afternoon, causing over 3,000 evacuations and threatening more than 1,300 structures while also closing a portion of the Garden State Parkway in the southern portion of the state. The fire started in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area of Ocean County Tuesday morning and 10% of the fire has been contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said. The cause is under investigation. No injuries have been reported, but several businesses in an industrial park in Lacey Township have burned, Ocean County Undersheriff Jon Lombardi told CNN. It doesn’t appear any homes have suffered major damage, he said. The fire is already having impacts on the state, with over 26,000 customers impacted by power outages in Ocean County, according to PowerOutage.US. A nearby chunk of the Garden State Parkway, a main artery in the state, is closed as well, New Jersey State Police said. Thick, black clouds filled the sky, prompting a public health advisory in the county as air quality worsened. Some buildings appear to have already been burnt as firefighters work to protect structures, aerials from CNN affiliate WPVI show. The smoke wasn’t too bad at first, Giana Nicholas told CNN affiliate News 12 New Jersey, but it quickly escalated and forced her family to evacuate. “Eventually as the night went on, smoke flooded the streets,” she said. The fire comes as New Jersey is under an official drought warning, with “well-below average precipitation throughout the winter,” the state said in a news release last month. Approximately 7,000 acres of New Jersey’s forests are burnt each year, with Tuesday’s fire surpassing the yearly average. While wildfires aren’t as common as in other areas of the country, the region is no stranger to the phenomenon. The Jennings Creek Fire burned several thousand acres in New Jersey and New York in November, prompting heavy response from both states. Winds Tuesday afternoon consistently gusted between 15 and 25 mph, but are expected to decrease later tonight. Dry weather is expected for the remainder of the week, but winds are expected to be much weaker, at only 5 to 10 mph. This story has been updated with additional information.