LOS ANGELES (AP) – Firefighters battling home-threatening wildfires in the West caught a break overnight as gusty winds died down but with the region bracing for sweltering heat, Saturday’s respite could be brief, authorities said.
A four-day-old fire in California coastal canyons was 45 percent contained after 40-mph “sundowner” winds failed to materialize.
Those evening and night gusts had driven the flames through steep, brushy canyons west of Santa Barbara on previous nights and forced closure of a major highway.
No homes have burned, but about 270 homes and ranches are at risk and campgrounds are evacuated with flames only 2 miles from more densely populated coastal communities.
In central New Mexico, firefighters took advantage of cooler weather overnight to reinforce holding lines around a blaze that has destroyed two dozen homes.