Aided by cooler temperatures, firefighters gained ground on Friday to three wildfires in southern californiaand authorities began lifting evacuation orders that forced thousands of people to flee.
The largest of the fires is the Bridge Fire east of Los Angeles, which has burned 81 square miles (210 square kilometers), destroyed at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced about 10,000 people to evacuate the area. The cause of the blaze is still unknown. After several days of burning with no fire crews available to stop it, it was 3 percent contained.
“Firefighters have made significant progress on the ground, assisted by aircraft to aggressively attack the fire, 24 hours a day,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement about the blaze.
While firefighters have made significant progress, the three largest fires, which have swept through the mountains east of Los Angeles, destroyed dozens of homes, injured scores of people and burned more than 100,000 acres, still pose significant threats to some communities.
California is entering the most intense phase of its wildfire season, with nearly three times as much land already burned as in all of 2023.
Evacuation orders have been lifted, including in parts of Big Bear, where the Line Fire forced thousands to flee after authorities said a delivery driver intentionally started the blaze on Sept. 5.
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