SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — In the winter of 2009, my wife and I found a house that looked like a great place to start our family, a three-bedroom in a hilly subdivision surrounded by dry brush...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bulldozer drivers cut 305 miles (491 kilometers) of fire lines through scenic forest land last year in a desperate bid to stop a massive wildfire's advance on a Northern...

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Two California brothers on a world adventure before one of them became a dad this spring were among those killed in an Ethiopian Airlines jet crash, friends and relatives...

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Police in Northern California say two men were arrested following the theft of two trailers intended for victims of the deadly wildfire that destroyed the town of Paradise.

Police in Redding were called by a resident of a mobile home park who awoke to the sound of scraping metal and saw a trailer being towed off the property.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California woman who killed a man after she drove head-on into freeway traffic in an apparent suicide attempt has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.

ANDERSON, Calif. (AP) — Police in Northern California have killed a man they say shot at officers during a freeway chase.

The Shasta County Sheriff's Office says a Redding police officer spotted a stolen Honda Civic early Thursday morning, leading to a chase onto Interstate 5.

At one point, the car stopped and a woman got out before the chase resumed.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A rare fire tornado that raged during this summer's deadly Carr Fire in Northern California was created by a combination of scorching weather, erratic winds and an ice-topped cloud that towered miles into the atmosphere, according to a study announced Wednesday.

The churning funnel of smoke and flame killed a firefighter as it exploded in what already was a vast and devastating wildfire in July on the edge of Redding, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

Embers falling on their heads, Venesa Rhodes and her husband had seconds to rush their two beloved cats into their SUV before a wildfire last summer would overtake them all.

One cat got in. But the other, named Bella, bolted and disappeared as the blaze bore down. The couple had no choice but to flee, and their home and much of the neighborhood in Redding, California, soon was reduced to ash.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Police in Northern California are investigating the death of an 11-month-old boy who was admitted to the hospital with seizures and appeared to have a serious head injury.

Redding Police Sgt. Todd Cogle says the child was admitted to Mercy Medical Center on October 16 but after his conditioned worsened he was transported to U.C. Davis Medical Center, where he died two days later. Autopsy results are pending.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A man who stole a trailer from a family fleeing a devastating Northern California wildfire has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The Shasta County district attorney's office says 20-year-old David Fuentes was sentenced Wednesday for burglary, unlawfully taking a vehicle, looting and probation violation.

SHASTA LAKE, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation crew has begun testing the strength of Shasta Dam's concrete as part of preparation work to raise its height by more than 18 feet (5.5 meters).

SHASTA-TRINITY NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. (AP) — A highway running the length of California remained closed for a fifth day Sunday near the Oregon border as a wildfire smothered rural forestlands in smoke and flame.

SHASTA-TRINITY NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. (AP) — A roaring wildfire that shut down a stretch of a major interstate near the California-Oregon border exploded in size as crews on Saturday scrambled to prevent flames from reaching rural communities.

The blaze in California's Shasta-Trinity National Forest was burning out of control after chewing through 58 square miles (150 square kilometers) of timber and brush since Wednesday.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires burning in California (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

A Northern California wildfire that shut down an enormous stretch of a major highway continues to surge into wilderness areas.

The Delta Fire that erupted Wednesday has now burned more than 34 square miles (89 square kilometers) of timber and brush and prompted evacuation orders for rural homes in and around Shasta-Trinity National Forest below the Oregon state line.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Officials say a Northern California wildfire that closed down a highway has tripled in size, prompting evacuation orders.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Both directions of a major highway connecting California and Oregon were closed and evacuations were ordered Wednesday when a fast-moving wildfire swept through a wilderness area.

The blaze in Shasta County was reported during the afternoon and within hours had charred nearly 8 square miles (about 21 square kilometers) of brush and timber in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):

10:20 p.m.

A wildfire that shut down a major interstate freeway in rural Northern California is racing through timber and brush but authorities say it doesn't threaten any large communities.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — A volunteer pilot was killed and a mother and daughter he was transporting to a Northern California hospital were injured when their small plane crashed near the Palo Alto airport, authorities and the plane's operator said Tuesday.

Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Geoffrey Blackshire said the single-engine Mooney M20 was trying to land when it crashed in a pond Tuesday. He says the plane had reportedly flown in from Redding.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a small plane crash in the Bay Area (all times local):

6:40 p.m.

A relative has identified a mother and daughter who were injured when a small plane crashed while taking them to a California children's hospital so the daughter could have surgery.

Forty-nine-year-old Nancy Dellamaria of Redding and her daughter, 16-year-old Chloe King, remain hospitalized. There's no immediate word on their conditions.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A massive California wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes and claimed eight lives has been fully contained.

State fire officials said Thursday that the Carr Fire is surrounded. However, firefighters will continue to patrol the area for several days and crews are still working on repairing broken fences and other damage caused by firefighters.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Fire crews have made gains against a wildfire that has been burning for more than a month in Northern California, where it destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people.

The California Department of Fire and Forestry Protection says the blaze burning in and around the city of Redding is 93 percent contained as of Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In the history of California wildfires there has never been anything like it: A churning tornado filled with fire, the size of three football fields.

An official report describes in chilling detail the intensity of the rare fire phenomenon and how quickly it took the life of Redding firefighter Jeremy Stoke, who was enveloped in seconds as he tried to evacuate residents on July 26.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A couple whose flattened trailer tire accidentally started a massive fire in Northern California has received more than 100 cards and letters with supportive messages telling them not to feel guilty.

The outpouring of support for an 81-year-old man and his wife started after Rachel Pilli made a Facebook post offering to forward compassionate messages to the couple, the Record Searchlight in Redding, California, reported Wednesday.

LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):

8 p.m.

Firefighters are making progress against the largest California wildfire ever recorded although thousands of homes and buildings remain under threat.

State fire officials Wednesday night say the Mendocino Complex — twin fires that are being fought together — has destroyed 119 homes and 472 square miles (1,222 square kilometers) of brush and timber north of San Francisco.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. (AP) — A utility worker was killed near a Northern California wildfire as crews working in sweltering conditions battled multiple blazes, including twin fires that exploded in size and forced hundreds more to evacuate rural communities, officials said Sunday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday called on President Donald Trump to help California fight and recover from another devastating wildfire season.

Brown, who inspected neighborhoods wiped out by a wildfire in the Northern California city of Redding, said he was confident the president he has clashed with over immigration and pollution policies would send aid, which Trump did last year when California's wine country was hit hard.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):

8:30 p.m.

Authorities are calling on residents in Glenn and Colusa counties in Northern California to evacuate as a fire there continues to grow.

Cal Fire issued the evacuation order Saturday night to people who live in several parts of the counties, including an area just east of the boundary of Mendocino National Forest and all areas west of Bear Valley Road to Highway 20.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Authorities are ordering residents along a Northern California lake to evacuate homes in the path of a growing wildfire amid concerns that hot, windy and dry weather conditions will persist throughout the weekend.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A deadly Northern California wildfire burned so hot in dry and windy conditions that it birthed a record-breaking tornado of flame, officials said Friday.

They also warned of worsening conditions throughout the region.

For the past week, Robert Tierney Jr. has been registering patients at a Northern California hospital in the mornings and checking out possible rentals after work, trying to count his blessings even though his house is one of the more than 1,000 destroyed in a deadly wildfire.

Tierney is among dozens of staff members, including doctors, nurses and others, at Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center in Redding keeping the hospital running despite losing their homes to the flames.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Carol Smith and her family walked into their hillside neighborhood Thursday to find her home reduced to mangled metal and piles of bricks after a massive Northern California wildfire leveled more than 1,000 homes.

"I'm waiting to probably break down any minute here. Pretty overwhelming," Smith said as the family stood on the sidewalk staring in disbelief at what's left of their house in the city of Redding.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires raging in California (all times local):

9:10 p.m.

Authorities have ordered more evacuations in Northern California as fires continue to advance.

The orders were issued Thursday night for an area along the boundary of Mendocino National Forest and along portions of the border between Lake and Colusa counties.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Among the refugees from the massive and deadly wildfires in Northern California were some hard-shelled survivors: 80 tortoises.

Ken and Kate Hoffman, who run the Tortoise Acres Adoption Center in Anderson outside Redding, evacuated on Saturday in the midst of the wildfire that has killed six people and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.

The couple opened the rescue center and sanctuary in 2016.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A cat seeking refuge from a raging Northern California wildfire found a fine-feathered friend as it awaited rescue from the heat and flames.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — A massive wildfire in Northern California has torched more than 1,000 homes in and around the city of Redding, authorities said Wednesday as some evacuees were allowed to return home and new blazes exploded in what has become an endless summer of flame in the Golden State.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on destructive wildfires in California and the U.S. West (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Forecasters say the threat of major fires will remain high across much of California and the northwestern corner of the U.S. throughout August and September.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Not all firefighters carry a hose or shovel.

The adrenaline junkies who steer heavy bulldozers across steep ridges face serious hazards, from smoke and flames but also from unsteady dirt and steep terrain that can flip them over. The deaths of two bulldozer operators battling California wildfires in July highlighted the dangers confronting these less visible firefighters.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters are battling a massive blaze in Northern California that has torched more than 1,000 homes in and around the city of Redding.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that hundreds of barns, warehouses and other buildings have also been destroyed by the fire.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Residents of a Northern California neighborhood can breathe a sigh of relief now that a 14-foot python that went missing after a pet store was evacuated during a wildfire has been found safe.

Sandra Dodge-Streich, owner of Redding Reptiles, says the snake was placed in a plastic bin and brought to a home after flames moved closer last week. She says the lavender albino reticulated python named Eres slithered out of the bin Saturday.

LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on fires in California (all times local):

9:50 p.m.

A relative has identified one of the six people killed in a fire that destroyed nearly 1,000 Northern California homes.

Sixty-two-year-old Daniel Bush died last week as fire swept through the Redding area.

LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) — A pair of wildfires that prompted evacuation orders for nearly 20,000 people barreled Monday toward small lake towns in Northern California, and authorities faced questions about how quickly they warned residents about the largest and deadliest blaze burning in the state.

LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on fires in California (all times local):

8 p.m.

A fire official says a Northern California wildfire is now the ninth most destructive in the state's history.

State fire spokesman Scott McLean says the blaze rampaging in the area of Redding has destroyed 818 homes and 311 outbuildings. Another 165 homes have been damaged by the fire, which also killed two firefighters and four civilians.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A highway patrol officer who became an internet sensation after he helped rescue a month-old fawn from a Northern California wildfire said Monday he didn't expect the photos to go viral.

On Saturday morning, California Highway Patrol Sgt. David Fawson of San Francisco helped Cal Fire officers rescue a fawn from fast-growing wildfire in Redding, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The deadly Northern California wildfire that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes slowed down Sunday after days of explosive growth, giving officials hope even as they announced the discovery of a sixth fatality.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on fires in California (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

Authorities say a massive blaze in Northern California has destroyed more than 650 homes since it broke out July 23.

Cal Fire officials said the so-called Carr Fire currently threatens more than 5,000 structures.