Fires rage across western United States
Fires rage across western United States Firefighters have struggled to contain infernos across the western United States as experts warned that drought-striken California should prepare for an unusually intense wildfire season. Forest fires are a fact of life in much of California but have become far worse because of bone-dry conditions, with the Golden State gripped in its fifth year of drought. A fire in the Los Padres National Forest had expanded to two square miles (five square kilometers) yesterday, making it the "largest since 2009" in the area, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Information Center told AFP. Strong winds were hampering efforts to contain the blaze, and the operation was expected to be hindered further by near-record temperatures over the weekend in the southern half of California. Los Padres, which begins about two hours drive northwest of downtown Los Angeles, is popular with hikers and campers,...