California city cancels Fourth of July fireworks show as firefighters battle flames amid heatwave

AP – Authorities in a northern California community in the United States (US) have canceled its annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as some 26,000 residents were left homeless by a spreading wildfire, while hundreds of firefighters worked in extremely hot conditions to prevent the flames from reaching more homes.

The Thompson Fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 110 kilometers (km) north of Sacramento, near the Butte County city of Oroville. It spewed a massive plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to more than 14 square kilometers (5.9 square miles).

Oroville Mayor David Pittman said Wednesday there was a “significant decrease in fire activity” and expressed hope that some residents would be able to return home soon.

The fire’s progress was halted along the southern edge, and firefighters working the steep terrain were trying to build containment lines on the northern side. Containment stood at seven percent Wednesday evening.

“They have real topography issues on that north side,” Pittman said. More than a dozen other fires, mostly small, were active across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

A new fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon prompted a brief evacuation in densely populated Simi Valley, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The state’s largest wildfire, the Basin Fire, burned nearly 35 square miles (57 square kilometers) of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County and was 26 percent contained.