US: Firefighters continue to battle massive West Coast wildfires

Surging Tamarack Fire in California near state line with Nevada prompts partial highway closure and evacuation orders.

Firefighters continue to battle massive wildfires on the West Coast of the United States, as authorities in California closed part of a highway and ordered evacuations near a surging blaze that remains completely uncontained. In a statement on Sunday, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest said the Tamarack Fire near Markleeville, about 257km (160 miles) west of Sacramento near the California-Nevada state line, had grown to 18,299 acres (7,405 hectares). “There are thunderstorms predicted today in the afternoon that may cause erratic winds in the fire area,” the statement said.