New wildfires surge in Northern California as firefighters gain ground against large blaze in the South

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Major new wildfires challenged California firefighters Tuesday even as they increased lockdowns previous fires which erupted when dry northerly winds arrived this weekend.

Evacuations were ordered after the Aero Fire broke out Monday and spread over 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) near Copperopolis, a small community in Calaveras County, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) away. east of San Francisco in the state's historic Gold Country region. .

Authorities set up three evacuation centers, but the number of people evacuated was unknown.

Three structures were destroyed and one was damaged, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said. A decrease in winds and an increase in relative humidity allowed firefighters to achieve 23% containment.

The Aero Fire is one of the latest fires to erupt in California in a matter of days, as a calm start to the fire season suddenly became active, with flames consuming drying grasses and brush, encouraged by consecutive wet winters. Most fires remained small, but a few charred thousands of acres.

In the northern Central Valley, a fire dubbed the Sites Fire broke out Monday afternoon and spread across nearly 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) of rural Colusa County, about 105 miles (169 kilometers) south of north of San Francisco. It was contained at 5% Tuesday evening.

In an optimistic development, the remaining red flag warnings for fire weather conditions in the Central Valley are expected to expire by noon, the National Weather Service said.

In the mountains of northern Los Angeles County, the size of a 4-day-old baby After the fire remained unchanged at just over 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) and containment increased to 31%.

Firefighters built and reinforced fire control lines and protected infrastructure such as electrical installations, oil pipelines and recreational areas. They've made significant progress on the north side of the fire, said Landon Haack, section chief with Cal Fire.

“The crews have been working very hard here,” Haack said during a briefing Tuesday afternoon. “They cleaned a lot of it up, mopped it up and put out the smoke.”

Firefighters focused on the southern edge of the fire near Pyramid Lake, a popular boating destination that has been closed as a precaution since Sunday.

Officials said firefighters were carried across the water and then climbed steep terrain to prevent the flames from reaching the north shore of the lake.

A commercial property was destroyed and one injury was reported.

In Sonoma County, north of the San Francisco Bay Area, the 3-day-old Point Fire was 40% contained and remained within 5 square miles due to firefighting conditions favorable, Cal Fire said. Two structures were destroyed and one injury was reported.

About 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, the Hesperia Fire, nearly 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) in size, was 86% contained. The fire broke out Saturday and forced road closures and evacuation warnings in San Bernardino County.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and radio reporter Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.