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.

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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 ...

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 ...

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).

The crew is drilling holes on top and on both sides of the dam in Shasta County to ...

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.

Officials were trying to determine whether it was safe to reopen a 45-mile ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Firefighters struggled against rugged terrain, high winds and an August heat wave Tuesday to slow the spread of the biggest wildfire ever recorded in California, an inferno that exploded to be nearly the size of Los Angeles in just 11 days.

The 450-square-mile (1,165-square-kilometer) ...

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.

The Pacific ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

Winds in the “fire whirl” created July 26 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

Meanwhile officials said a ...

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 ...

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The death count from a Northern California wildfire rose to five Saturday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead.

“My babies are dead,” Sherry Bledsoe said through tears after she and family members met ...

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

8:20 p.m.

Authorities say a deadly wildfire that forced thousands of evacuations in Northern California has grown slightly and containment remained at just 5 percent.

California Department ...