Here's why it takes months to subdue some wildfires

At nearly every community meeting on firefighting efforts in the U.S. West, residents want to know why crews don’t simply put out the flames to save their homes and the valuable forests surrounding them.

Explosive California wildfires could burn into December

Smoke from California's wildfires choked people on the East Coast. Flames wiped out a gold rush-era town. Ash covers area that would dwarf Rhode Island.

California’s wildfires already erratic; worst may be ahead

Images of homes engulfed in flames and mountains glowing like lava would make it easy to conclude the Golden State is a charred black landscape.

National forests closed as California wildfires surge

The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that beginning on Aug. 22 it will close nine national forests from near Lake Tahoe at the Nevada border on the east all the way west to Six Rivers National Forest, which stretches north to the Oregon border and contains more than 1 million acres of land alone.

Lake County's Cache Fire is no longer a threat

Lake County's Cache Fire is no longer a threat: 40% contained and kept to 83 acres.

Smoke from wildfires causing bad Bay Area air

All this bad air is coming from smoke coming from wildfires in Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

Poor air quality expected through Friday, triggers Spare the Air alert

Air quality is expected to be bad in parts of the Bay Area on Friday. The poor air is prompting the first Spare the Air alerts this year triggered by wildfires and it likely won’t be the last.

A look at 3 California wildfires: Dixie, Caldor, Cache

Firefighters are battling 15 blazes in California right now, and here's a look at three of them: The Cache Fire, the Caldor Fire and the Dixie Fire.

Wildfire smoke particles may increase risk of COVID and death

Exposure to pollution particles in wildfire smoke may have already led to thousands of cases of COVID-19 and deaths, according to new research.

Residents returning to Clearlake find destroyed homes in Cache Fire

Cal fire is working to contain the Cache Fire a day after it scorched more than 80 acres and burned an estimated 60 homes. Today, some residents made it back to their neighborhoods only to find their homes were destroyed.

California Air Quality Map

Real-time information about California air quality from monitors around the state.

Cache Fire evacuees describe chaos, destruction at mobile home park
video

Lake County residents who fled from the Cache Fire and firefighters who tried getting the flames under control descried the frantic scene yesterday as mobile homes became engulfed in flames.

Ash rains down in California from Caldor Fire

Rain is a pretty rare sight in drought-stricken California but during fire season, raining ash is unfortunately much more common.

Clearlake takes direct hit in Cache Fire, at least 60 homes destroyed

At least 60 homes have burned in the quick-moving Cache Fire in Lake County. Two mobile home parks in Clearlake took a direct hit. One person was injured.

Clearlake takes direct hit in Cache Fire, at least 60 homes destroyed
video

Officials say the City of Clearlake lost at least 60 homes in the rapidly developing Cache Fire on Wednesday. Most were mobile homes at two separate mobile home parks. The 80-acre fire was 20% contained by nightfall.

Destroyed in minutes: Cache Fire races through homes in Lake County
video

KTVU's Debora Villalon reports from Lake County, where one mobile home park lost at least 15 homes just a couple hours earlier, Wednesday afternoon.

Cache Fire burns quickly in Lake County
video

The Cache Fire burned some homes and led authorities to impose mandatory evacuations in the area of Clearlake and Lower Lake in Lake County. State Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents the area, spoke to KTVU about conditions.

Fast-moving Cache Fire destroys dozens of homes in Lake County
video

The Cache Fire, which began early Wednesday afternoon, had destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds to evacuate in Lake County.