Firefighters battling home-threatening wildfires in the West faced gusty winds and record heat on Sunday. Officials in California made progress by containing 45 percent of a four-day-old fire in coastal canyons west of Santa Barbara after 40-mph “sundowner” winds failed to materialize.
Those evening and night gusts had driven the flames through steep, brushy canyons on previous nights and forced closure of a major highway. However, forecasters still warned of extreme fire danger Sunday evening due to hot, dry weather and winds that could gust up to 50 mph. READ MORE
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