Wildfire, Natural Disaster | featured news

Air tankers and helicopters flew repeatedly into a deep rim rock canyon to douse the spearhead of a massive wildfire in Northern California and stop it from driving into a nearby mountain community and Lassen Volcanic National Park....

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in three Northern California counties on Wednesday after a wildfire that has already destroyed 64 homes advanced with 75-foot flames on a tiny community at the doorstep of a national park.

As hundreds of residents in Washington and California were allowed to return to homes once threatened by major wildfires, some people were told to evacuate as encroaching blazes neared Idaho towns.

Lorie Winmill grew teary as she loaded her vehicle and prepared her 4-year-old granddaughter to stay with relatives as a wildfire burned closer to this small town in central Idaho.

Christopher Carlson sprang into action when smoke and embers ushered a fire that threatened to envelop his Noble, Oklahoma, home. After taking his 12-year-old stepson to safety, Carlson raced against time to assist neighbors and try to save his trailer from one of more than a dozen wildfires that, as of Saturday, had destroyed more than 120 structures.

McCann, 19, was fleeing Colorado’s most destructive fire -- the Waldo Canyon fire -- when she lost control of her Subaru while trying to pass another vehicle on Interstate 84 between Boise and Mountain Home, Idaho. Her car went off the road and began burning -- starting another wildfire.

As firefighters continue fighting the devastating Waldo Canyon blaze in Colorado, FBI agents are investigating what could have triggered the blaze, which forced more than 30,000 people from their homes.

Wildfires raging in Colorado and record heat throughout the Midwest and Atlantic coast are adding to this year's fireworks cancellations.

Presidents often take trips to disaster areas to show concern -- and are often criticized over the expenses. Today, former Colorado governor Bill Owens -- a Republican -- questioned Obama's visit to Colorado Springs, saying it will divert resources from efforts to fight the wildfires ravaging the area.

High winds continued to whip through the Colorado Springs area on Wednesday, fanning the flames of the Waldo Canyon fire and more than doubling the amount of destroyed acreage.