Nearly 500 personnel battle Timber fire in Los Padres national forest as blaze grows to 3,000 acres

Evacuations have been ordered for areas along California’s famous Big Sur coast as a wildfire burns in the nearby steep, rugged mountains.

The Timber fire in Monterey county started on Sunday and grew to nearly 3,000 acres by Tuesday evening, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. Nearly 500 fire personnel had been assigned to the fire in the Los Padres national forest.

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements.

Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

Extreme conditions in Washington and Oregon have fueled fast-moving fires, leaving the region draped in toxic plumes – and the danger isn’t over

Piles of twisted metal and ashen debris line the cul-de-sacs where the tranquil suburbs of Spokane, Washington, once stood.

The scale of devastation from a historic wildfire season in the Pacific north-west has come into sharper focus as firefighters wrangle a trio of blazes that consumed at least 846 structures on the eastern side of the state.

Mutual aid groups that started giving out PPEs during Covid are now loaning air purifiers and distributing masks to fume-addled communities

Miquette Thompson’s home in rural Mendocino county has been covered in smoke all week. There are the nearby Feliz and Woodside fires in northern California, which have burned more than 1,000 acres, as well as the wildfires devastating Oregon and Washington that are sending smoke their way, too.

“It’s become not unusual,” she said of walking outside and seeing a hazy sky.

Officials did not identify the pilots but said they were employed by Helicopter Transport Services, which was contracted by US Forest Service

Two helicopter pilots who crashed while they were fighting a wildfire in Utah have died, officials confirmed Saturday. The pilots were killed when their Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter went down Friday morning, according to the Sevier County Sheriff.

The helicopter was among those fighting a fire in the Fishlake National Forest. The crash ignited a new fire that spread to connect with the existing blaze, which has now scorched nearly 174 square miles (nearly 451skm).

Rescuers not yet able to reach scene of crash near Richfield in central Utah, prompting fears for two missing people

A firefighting Sikorsky S64 helicopter with two individuals onboard crashed on Friday morning in a remote area of central Utah, according to federal aviation authorities.

The US Forest Service initially declined to comment on the condition of the helicopter’s passengers, asking the public for “patience while we focus on response efforts” in a statement.

Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has burned more than 15 sq miles in Calaveras county

At least one person has died in a wildfire burning in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range that officials believed was sparked by a man using a chainsaw.

Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has destroyed seven buildings, scorched more than 15 sq miles in Calaveras county and killed a well-known dog breeder in the town of Angels Camp.

Court documents allege Aaron Farinacci, who faces slew of arson charges, set 25 fires in Spokane area over past year

The 37-year-old man accused of sparking a devastating fire in Washington allegedly studied how to maximize the blaze’s destruction and was responsible for setting 25 other fires in the Spokane area over the past year, according to a court affidavit.

Aaron Farinacci, who faces a slew of arson charges, is accused of starting the Old Trails fire, which began on 1 August and is still burning – one of three “Spokane complex” fires that have scorched hundreds of homes and displaced thousands of residents.

Experts say growing trend on sites such as Polymarket and Kalshi could motivate people to start fires to win money

A group of US lawmakers is sounding the alarm over prediction market platforms that allow users to bet on wildfires, as experts warn the emerging trend could raise the risk of arson.

Democratic senators from six states sent a letter this week to the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an independent government agency regulating platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, urging it to rein in the practice.

While many leaders compare the wildfire crisis to the second world war, governments fail to adopt the real lessons of pre-emptive wartime action

As France and Spain battle historic wildfires, comparisons to the second world war abound. “One of the continent’s biggest evacuation efforts since World War II,” reports the Associated Press. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called the wildfires his country’s “most difficult situation since the second world war”.

The images crossing all our screens certainly feel war-like – emergency aircraft and black smoke fill the skies, frantic civilians seeking shelter, historic towns lying in ruins, charred forests and burned-out vehicles, exhausted and sweat-soaked emergency responders.

Investigators pin blame for Eaton fire, which killed 19 people and ruined thousands of homes, on ‘electrical arcing events’ at out-of-service tower

The deadly 2025 Eaton fire in the Los Angeles area was caused by equipment belonging to the utility company Southern California Edison, fire officials said in a report released on Tuesday.

Los Angeles county fire officials found that the cause of the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 homes and businesses was a tower that was not in service, according to the report.

Suspect had a prior conviction for shooting his father in Arizona, reportedly after he told his son to do the dishes

Authorities on Monday charged a man in Washington state with starting a wildfire that has consumed almost 4,000 acres and forced tens of thousands from their homes.

Aaron Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson for setting the Old Trails fire, the largest of three devastating wildfires burning through the region.

More than 60,000 people have been evacuated and at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures destroyed, authorities said. The Spokane Area fire, which contains three separate blazes, has not yet been contained

Wildfires in and around Spokane have stretched ability of federal and local agencies to fight blazes

Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said on Sunday.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second largest city, burned about 8.2 sq miles (about 21 sq km), but they were among dozens across the western US that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. A total of about 390 sq miles have burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.

In Oregon and Washington, low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread

A heatwave scorching the western US region has elevated the risk of hazardous fire conditions particularly in parts of Oregon and Washington, where low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread.

The National Weather Service has forecast blistering temperatures through early next week that could climb from 110F to 120F across the south-west. In the Pacific north-west, highs reaching into the 90s are expected in the days to come.