Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

DISASTERS

The Latest: Crews gain ground on California wildfire

Associated Press
Published | Updated
  • df6bbec1-
    Image 1 of 3

    A fire engine passes the Ripplewood Resort as a smoke from a firing operation is visible in the Juan Higuera Creek drainage above as crews fight a wildfire near the village of Big Sur, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. (David Royal/The Monterey County Herald via AP) (The Associated Press)

  • 19c4f6de-
    Image 2 of 3

    Damin Pashilk, seen here in a poster on display at a press briefing at Twin Pines Casino in Middletown, Calif., was arrested Monday on arson charges for allegedly sparking a wildfire that exploded over the weekend in the Northern California town of Lower Lake, Monday, Aug. 15, 2016. Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake was arrested Monday on 17 counts of arson and is in jail. He is suspected in numerous fires in Lake County over the past year. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) (The Associated Press)

  • 03ba8ce0-
    Image 3 of 3

    People look on as its announced that Damin Pashilk, seen here in a poster on display at Twin Pines Casino, is the arsonist allegedly responsible for a wildfire that exploded over the weekend in a Northern California town, in Middletown, Calif. on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016. Pashilk is being charged with 17 counts of arson and is in jail. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) (The Associated Press)

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Latest on wildfires burning in California (all times local):

6:55 a.m.

Fire crews gained some significant ground on a massive Northern California wildfire that has destroyed 175 homes, businesses and other structures and charred nearly 7 square miles.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant says the fire in Lower Lake, about a two hour drive from San Francisco, was 20 percent Monday.

The progress came as authorities arrested 40-year-old Damin Anthony Pashilk of Clearlake, California, on 17 counts of arson Monday. Pashilk is suspected of sparking the blaze that exploded over the weekend. Officials say he is also suspected in several other fires over the past year in Lake County.

Roughly 1,600 firefighters are battling the blaze Tuesday through warm temperatures and light winds.