Officials say two firefighters have been killed when their vehicle rolled off a mountainside as they battled a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest, south of Acton. Wildfires have consumed 66 square miles, destroyed at least 18 buildings and threatens some 12,000 homes.

Three separate wildfires have prompted California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency in two counties: Los Angeles and Monterey. Wildfires in both counties threatened several homes as the blazes spread.

The area of forest burnt by wildfires in the United States is set to increase by over 50% by 2050, according to research by climate scientists.

Several thousand residents living in 1,200 homes were evacuated from the Santa Barbara area on Wednesday, as wildfire season got an early start, fueled by a Calif. drought which has already raised the prospect of water rationing.

New study finds substantial loss of carbon, nitrogen from burned soils -- and connections to warming climate

Wildfires can boost ozone pollution to levels that violate U.S. health standards, a new study concludes. The research, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), focused on California wildfires in 2007, finding that they repeatedly caused ground-level ozone to spike to unhealthy levels across a broad area, including much of rural California as well as neighboring Nevada.

Climate has been implicated by a new study as a major driver of wildfires in the last 2,000 years. But human activities, such as land clearance and fire suppression during the industrial era (since 1750) have created large swings in burning, first increasing fires until the late 1800s, and then dramatically reducing burning in the 20th century.

A remotely piloted aircraft carrying a NASA sensor flew over much of California earlier this week, gathering information that will be used to help fight more than 300 wildfires burning within the state. Additional flights are planned for next week.

At noon, it was black as night. It was May 19, 1780 and some people in New England thought judgment day was at hand. Accounts of that day, which became known as 'New England's Dark Day,' include mentions of midday meals by candlelight, night birds coming out to sing, flowers folding their petals,and strange behavior from animals.

The wildfires in Ordway, Colorado are causing more damage as the small town Ordway has already lost three lives in Colordao.