Firefighters make progress against massive blaze in California ahead of warming weather

FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Fire crews worked Tuesday to hold on to the progress made against the largest blaze in California this year ahead of warming temperatures forecast for later this week.

Authorities said containment was 14% and lifted evacuation orders in some communities of Butte County, where the Park Fire started last week before spreading to a neighboring county and scorching an area bigger than Los Angeles. The massive fire continues to burn through rugged, inaccessible terrain with dense vegetation, threatening to spread to two other counties.

“That’s going to be a continued challenge for us moving forward over the next couple of days," said Mark Brunton, an operations section chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Cooler weather has helped firefighters stop the blaze's path near some communities like Forest Ranch, where some people began returning to unscathed homes Tuesday.

Christopher and Anita Angeloni have lived in the community of 1,600 for 23 years and have had to evacuate several times due to wildfires, including the 2018 Camp Fire that killed 85 people and decimated the town of Paradise, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) south.

Christopher Angeloni said he constantly worked on creating defensible space around his home and was happy to return home nearly a week after evacuating to see his hard work paid off.

“We were prepared to possibly lose everything,” he said.

Anita Angeloni said it has been a stressful week.

“We have not been sleeping enough, very tense, praying all the time, teary eyes," she said. “But we’re here. We’ll see for how long.”

The Park Fire, now the fifth largest in the state’s recorded history, was one of more than 100 large active wildfires burning in the U.S. on Tuesday. It has scorched nearly 600 square miles (1,551 square kilometers), according to CAL Fire. For comparison, the city of Los Angeles covers about 470 square miles (1,217 square kilometers).

Some blazes were sparked by the weather, with climate change increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the western U.S. endures blistering heat and bone-dry conditions.

The Park Fire started last Wednesday after authorities say a man pushed a burning car down a ravine in Chico. It has destroyed nearly 200 structures and is threatening thousands more. The suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, was charged with arson on Monday. His public defender, Nicole Diamond, said in an email she had no comment.

Some progress against the fire was made after cooler temperatures, more humidity and calmer winds in the last few days helped firefighters reach 14% containment as of Tuesday.

In the small forest community of Cohasset in Butte County, Ron Ward ignored evacuation orders last week and stayed behind with his son to defend his property, seeing Park Fire flames hundreds of feet high approach his family ranch.

He had lost insurance coverage on the property just a month earlier as companies increasingly drop California homeowners due to the growing risk of wildfires in the state.

He said the flames reached within 70 feet (21 meters) of his house. Then they stopped.

“It hit our sprinklers and kind of died down and then went around our property and missed, missed all of our structures,” Ward said. His 100-year-old ranch was saved.

Ward had to be the one to call his bookkeeper and neighbors to tell them their homes were gone.

“They haven’t even been able to get back to look at their homes,” he said, tearing up as he recounted last week's experience to The Associated Press in an interview Monday.

All through Cohasset there were remnants of the devastation, with charred mailboxes and vehicles covered with pink fire retardant dropped by aircraft. The husks of a washer and dryer set were surrounded by burned debris and a blackened motorcycle was propped upright, balancing on rims after its tires melted away.

Evacuation orders were in effect Tuesday on 25 wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 27,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to wildfires that have burned more than 3,200 square miles (8,288 square kilometers) nationwide, the center said.

In Southern California, people in Kern and Tulare counties were ordered to evacuate because of a fire sweeping through the Sequoia National Forest. The Borel Fire scorched through almost the entirety of the historic mining town of Havilah, officials said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is scheduled to visit the town of 250 people later Tuesday.

“We’re seeing so many of these iconic places in California . . . being quite literally devastated by these new realities,” Newsom said.

The fires burning throughout the state have overwhelmed California’s firefighting capacity and outside help has started to arrive, officials said. Newsom thanked Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott on Tuesday for sending more than two dozen fire engines to help combat the Park Fire this week.

U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said one-third of U.S. residents live in an area where human activities and wildland vegetation intersect, creating a higher potential for wildfires, according to a statement.

“We question living here for sure,” Ward said of his ranch in Cohasset. But generations have remained since his wife's great-grandfather settled there in 1905, and he isn't the one to leave, he said.

“There's a lot of history here,” Ward said. “So we live on this ranch, and we’re committed to this ranch and preserving the ranch.”

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. AP writers Eugene Garcia, Tran Nguyen and Rebecca Boone contributed.

The Park Fire burns along Highway 36 near Dales, Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Fire crews light a burn operation along Highway 36 to slow the Park Fire near Dales, Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A fire crew walks along Highway 32 near Butte Meadows, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A helicopter drops water on the Park Fire near Butte Meadows, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Andrea Blaylock becomes emotional as she sifts through the charred remains of her home that was destroyed in the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Fire crews light a burn operation along Highway 36 to slow the Park Fire near Dales, Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A firefighter walks by the remains of a home that was destroyed in the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Ron Ward, 63, and son Ethan, 31, pose for a photo on their ranch in Cohasset Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. They've been driving around in a off road cart vehicle putting out spot fires and informing their evacuated neighbors that their homes burned down. Firefighters made progress and were helped by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

The Park Fire burns along Highway 32 near Butte Meadows, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A CalFire firefighter cuts smaller trees along Highway 32 to help control the Park Fire near Butte Meadows, Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

FILE - This photo provided by the Butte County District Attorney shows Ronnie Dean Stout II of Chico, Calif. Stout was charged with arson, for allegedly starting the Park Fire, during his first court appearance Monday, July 29, 2024. (Butte County District Attorney via AP, File)

A Beckwourth Hot Shot cuts trees along Highway 32 to help control the Park Fire near Butte Meadows, Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

The Park Fire burns near Butte Meadows, Calif., Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Firefighters put out hot spots from the Park Fire along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A firefighter monitors trees burned in the Park Fire along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A helicopter carries waters over the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Firefighters put out hot spots from the Park Fire along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

U.S. stocks are drifting in early trading after leaping to records the day before as part of a worldwide rally. The S&P 500 was down 0.2% Friday but still on track for its fifth winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 63 points, or 0.2% after likewise setting its own all-time high the day before. The Nasdaq composite was flat. FedEx slumped after its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. Nike jumped after naming Elliott Hill as its chief executive. Treasury yields rose in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street pointed lower Friday as a rally driven by the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates faded and markets' focus turned to earnings and other corporate news.

Futures for the S&P 500 shed 0.2% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were essentially unchanged.

Fedex tumbled more than 13% in after-hours trading after the package delivery company's first-quarter earnings came up woefully short of Wall Street expectations. FedEx's profit per share came in 20% below forecasts and a nearly a dollar short of the same period a year ago. The company blamed flagging demand for certain services and higher operating expenses.

Nike shares got a boost from news that the athletic shoe company named Elliott Hill as its president and CEO, replacing John Donahoe. Its shares rose 6.6% as investors applauded the change that will bring Hill, who retired from the company in 2020, back to run the show.

Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group slid 5.7% to all-time lows as the lockup period for the company's biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, ended.

Trump owns more than half of the $3 billion company behind the Truth Social platform. But Trump and other insiders in the company have been, until today, unable to cash in because a “lock-up agreement” has prevented them from selling any of their shares. Trump has said he's in no rush to sell.

U.S. indices rose to record highs on Thursday after the Federal Reserve delivered its first cut to interest rates in more than four years a day earlier.

That closed the door on a run where the Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stamp out high inflation. Now that inflation has fallen from its peak two summers ago, Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed can focus more on keeping the job market solid and the economy out of a recession.

The Fed is still under pressure because the job market and hiring have begun to slow under the weight of higher interest rates. Some critics say the central bank waited too long to cut rates and may have damaged the economy.

Elsewhere, in Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX, the CAC 40 in Paris and London's FTSE 100 were all down in the neighborhood of 0.8%.

The Bank of Japan ended a two-day monetary policy meeting by announcing it would keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25%.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index soared 1.5% to close at 37,723.91 after the nation's key inflation data in August accelerated for a fourth consecutive month. The core consumer price index rose 2.8% year-on-year in August, exceeding the central bank’s 2% target and leaving room for further rate hikes.

Markets are closely watching for hints on the pace of future rate hikes from BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda.

“For the BOJ, given current economic conditions and recent central bank rhetoric, further policy adjustments are not expected until later this year or early 2025,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary.

The U.S. dollar rebounded against the Japanese currency, rising to 144.14 yen from 142.62 yen late Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1167 from $1.1161.

China refrained from further monetary stimulus as the central bank left key lending rates unchanged on Friday. The 1-year loan prime rate (LPR), the benchmark for most corporate and household loans, stays at 3.45%, and the 5-year rate, a reference for property mortgages, was held at 3.85%.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.4% to 18,258.57 and the Shanghai Composite index edged up less than 0.1% to 2,736.81.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% at 8,209.50. South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.5% to 2,593.37.

India's Sensex gained 0.9% and Taiwan's Taiex was up 0.5%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked down to 3.71% from 3.73% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, ticked up to 3.61% from 3.59%.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 32 cents to $70.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 31 cents to $74.56 per barrel.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.7% to 5,713.64 for one of its best days of the year and topped its last all-time high set in July. The Dow leaped 1.3% to 42,025.19, and the Nasdaq composite led the market with a 2.5% spurt to 18,013.98.

A bus passes the Wall St. subway station on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Trader Michale Conlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's news conference appears on a television screen behind him, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index and Japanese Yen exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People ride bicycles in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)