Fires are raging across California and across the western US

AUTHOR: M.J.
Due to a large fire in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles, in southern California, the evacuation of about 4,500 local residents was ordered.
The blaze, which was burning 189 square kilometers late Tuesday and was not yet contained, is one of three major wildfires in Southern California and threatens tens of thousands of homes and other structures.
The fires broke out as a result of a major heat wave that ended today. Cooler temperatures brought the prospect that firefighters would finally be able to battle the flames.
Other large fires burned across the western US in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, where about 20,000 people had to evacuate because of the fires.
In Northern California, a fire that broke out on Sunday destroyed at least 30 homes and structures and destroyed 40 to 50 vehicles in Clearlake City, 117 kilometers north of San Francisco. Approximately 4,000 people were forced to evacuate.
California is just entering wildfire season, but it has already experienced nearly three times as many fires as it did in all of 2023.
Evacuation orders were extended Tuesday night in Southern California as wildfires spread. About 65,600 houses and buildings are at risk.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday that a Nork man is suspected of arson and has been arrested and charged with arson.
Residents along the southern edge of Big Bear Lake were told to leave the area, which is a popular destination for anglers, bikers and hikers. As of late Tuesday night, the fire was burning more than 140 square kilometers of grass and brush. The area is covered in a thick cloud of dark smoke.
In neighboring Orange County, firefighters used bulldozers, helicopters and planes to control a blaze that started on Monday and spread to about eight square kilometers in just a few hours. The fire was started by a spark from heavy equipment used by public workers, officials said.
By Tuesday evening, more than 78 square kilometers of territory had been charred and the fire had spread across mountainous terrain into neighboring Riverside County. Several communications towers were burned, though officials said so far there have been no reports of damage interfering with police or fire communications in the area.