BRIDGEPORT, California: A wildfire that erupted in Northern California forced evacuations as it threatened about 500 homes and other buildings Tuesday, authorities said.
The Rices Fire erupted at around 2 p.m. near the Yuba River in Nevada County and had spread to more than 202 hectares by nightfall, said Unit Chief Brian Estes of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The flames also threatened power lines, water delivery systems and a state park, Estes said.
The rural area is in the Sierra Nevada, northeast of Sacramento and about halfway between the state Capitol and the Nevada border.
Authorities earlier said the fire began with a burning building and the flames spread to nearby dry vegetation.
At an evening news conference, however, Estes said he couldn’t confirm reports that some buildings had been destroyed.
About 350 buildings homes and other buildings were under evacuation orders, county Sheriff Shannan Moon said.
Firefighters fought the blaze on the ground and in the air, with aircraft making dozens of drops of water and fire retardant.
The fire was one of several in Northern California that flared Tuesday as the state sweltered under summer heat, with temperatures in the Rices Fire area hitting as high as 98 F (36.6 C) with low humidity.
A blaze that erupted Tuesday morning in San Luis Obispo County burned through grass and brush. It threatened about 50 buildings but no damage or injuries were reported and the blaze was 25 percent contained, fire officials said.
In Glenn County, a fire that charred more than 121 hectares was 65 percent contained.
Another fire near Davis, west of Sacramento, was contained without building damage or injuries after burning 202 hectares, authorities said.
Northern California wildfire threatens 500 buildings
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Northern California wildfire threatens 500 buildings
- The Rices Fire erupted at around 2 p.m. near the Yuba River in Nevada County and had spread to more than 202 hectares by nightfall
Russian drone attack forces power cuts in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih, military says
- Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts to cities across the country, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid
KYIV: Russian drones struck infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday, forcing emergency power blackouts for more than 45,000 customers and disrupting heat supplies, military administration head Oleksandr Vilkul said.
“Please fill up on water and charge your devices, if you have the chance. It’s going to be difficult,” Vilkul said on the Telegram messaging app.
Water utility pumping stations switched to generators and water remained in the system, but there could be pressure problems.
The full scale of the attack was not immediately known. There was no comment from Russia about the strike.
Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine’s power plants, substations and transmission lines with missiles and drones, seeking to knock out electricity and heating and hinder industry during the nearly four-year war.
Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts to cities across the country, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid.
Kryvyi Rih, a steel-and-mining hub in the Dnipropetrovsk region and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, has been hit repeatedly, with strikes killing civilians and damaging homes and industry.
The city sits close enough to southern front lines to be within strike range, while its factories, logistics links and workforce make it economically important and a key rear-area center supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
