Wildfires ignited over the weekend engulfed hundreds of acres of land in California and Utah, prompting evacuation orders as they torched homes, threatened nearby communities and, in Salt Lake City, burned near the state capitol.
The fires roared across the West amid an unrelenting stretch of intense heat that’s expected to continue through the week. The National Weather Service has issued heat warnings and advisories from Southern California to Washington, Idaho and Wyoming as triple-digit temperatures are expected across multiple states.
In Southern California, the Hawarden Fire, just 4 miles south of downtown Riverside, began on Sunday afternoon and grew over 520 acres, forcing residents to leave their homes as the fire rapidly expanded. Three homes were destroyed in a roaring blaze that was captured on video by local news crews.
Riverside Deputy Fire Chief Steve McKinster said at a news conference Monday that four other structures were damaged and that 1,500 homes are in the surrounding area. Damage assessments were set to begin Monday morning, he said. One firefighter has sustained a minor injury, McKinster said
