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New research by T. Madden & Associates has revealed that Texas is the most dangerous state for truck accidents. The study, which analyzed data from The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Texas Department of Transportation for 2023 found the Lone Star State had 20,510 fatal and non-fatal truck crashes — the highest of all states. The study shows the Top 5 most dangerous states for truck accidents as: Texas, with 20,510 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes California, with 13,086 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes Florida, with 10,391 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes Georgia, with 8,826 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes Pennsylvania, with 7,524 fatal and non-fatal large truck crashes “Freight trucks and their drivers are a crucial aspect of Texas’s great economy,” said Terance Madden of T. Madden & Associates. “For that reason, the health and safety of the state’s fleets and drivers should be an absolute priority, which is why the figures in our study are so concerning.” Madden also noted that with 20,510 incidents, Texas leads in large truck accidents, in fact, according to the Department of Transportation, at least one person has died on a Texas road since November 2000. “With that in mind, all drivers should take adequate precautions when getting out on the road, especially drivers of commercial vehicles,” Madden said. “In the unfortunate event of an incident, we strongly recommend having a strong insurance policy in place in the case of vehicle damage, and possibly obtaining legal advice in the case of injury or worse.” According to 2023 data from the Texas Department of Transportation, the five cities with the highest number of crashes in the state were: Houston: 67,644 total crashes (274 fatal, 67,370 non-fatal) San Antonio: 40,077 total crashes (160 fatal, 39,917 non-fatal) Dallas: 31,678 total crashes (196 fatal, 31,482 non-fatal) Fort Worth: 13,445 total crashes (111 fatal, 13,334 non-fatal) Austin: 12,138 total crashes (88 fatal, 12,050 non-fatal)

BALTIMORE — Investigators working to pinpoint the cause of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali, the massive cargo ship that lost power and disastrously veered off course before striking the bridge. When disconnected, the problematic cable triggered an electrical blackout on the ship similar to what happened as it approached the bridge on March 26, according to new documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The documents don’t include any analysis or conclusions, which will be released later in the board’s final report. A spokesperson for the board declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing. The Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. It crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, destroying the 1.6-mile span and killing six members of a roadwork crew. Safety investigators released a preliminary report earlier this year that documented a series of power issues on the ship before and after its departure from Baltimore. But the new records offer more details about how its electrical system may have failed in the critical moments leading up to the deadly disaster. The Dali first experienced a power outage when it was still docked in Baltimore. That was after a crew member mistakenly closed an exhaust damper while conducting maintenance, causing one of the ship’s diesel engines to stall, according to the earlier report. Crew members then made changes to the ship’s electrical configuration, switching from one transformer and breaker system — which had been in use for several months — to a second that was active upon its departure. That second transformer and breaker system is where investigators found the loose cable, according to investigative reports. Investigators also removed an electrical component from the same system for additional testing, according to a supplemental report released in June. They removed what is called a terminal block, which is used to connect electrical wires. Engineers from Hyundai, the manufacturer of the ship’s electrical system, said the loose cable could create an open circuit and cause a breaker to open, according to a 41-page report detailing tests completed on the Dali in the weeks after the collapse. The engineers disconnected the cable as part of a simulation, which resulted in a blackout on the ship. Hyundai sent engineers from its headquarters in South Korea to help with the investigation in April. The new documents also included various certificates issued after inspections of the Dali pertaining to its general condition and compliance with maritime safety regulations. “It’s pretty clear that they think they’ve found an issue that could cause a blackout,” said Tom Roth-Roffy, a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator who focused on maritime investigations. He said the loose cable was in a critical place within the electrical system. He also noted that investigators have clearly taken a thorough approach and documented their findings well. The new documents suggest they found very few other problems as they combed through the various systems and machinery aboard the Dali. In terms of whether the loose connection suggests inadequate maintenance of the ship or other problems with the crew, Roth-Roffy said it seems like a toss-up. Checking hundreds or thousands of wires is a tedious and time-consuming process, he said, and there are any number of factors that could cause connections to loosen over time, including the constant vibrations on a ship. “To say that this should have been detected is probably true but somewhat unrealistic,” he said. “But the ship’s crew has ultimate responsibility for the proper maintenance and operation of the ship.” The Dali left Baltimore for Virginia in late June. It was scheduled to undergo repairs there, and local media reported last week that it will sail to China, likely sometime later this month.

MORGAN CITY, La. — Francine weakened Thursday, Sept. 12, after striking Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, sent storm surge rushing into coastal communities, and raised flooding fears in New Orleans and beyond. As heavy rain drenched the northern Gulf Coast, New Orleans awoke to widespread power outages and debris-covered streets. Just before sunrise, large swaths of the city were without power, and home generators roared outside some houses. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. Up to 6 inches of rain was possible in parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia, with up to 10 inches possible in some parts of Alabama and Florida, forecasters said. Flash flooding threatened cities as far away as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. Francine slammed the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening with 100 mph winds in coastal Terrebonne Parish, battering a fragile coastal region that has not fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. The system then moved at a fast clip toward New Orleans, lashing the city with torrential rain. In New Orleans, rushing water nearly enveloped a pickup truck in an underpass, trapping the driver inside. A 39-year-old emergency room nurse who lived nearby grabbed a hammer, waded into the waist-high water, smashed the window and pulled the driver out. It was all captured on live television by a WDSU news crew. “It’s just second nature I guess, being a nurse, you just go in and get it done, right?” Miles Crawford told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I just had to get to get him out of there.” He said the water was up to the driver’s head and rising. Crawford told the man to move to the back of the truck’s cab, which gave him more room and since the front end of the pickup was angled down, into deeper water. “I wasn’t really questioning whether I should do it — it was just who is going to get it done,” he recalled, adding that he never caught the man’s name. News footage from coastal communities showed waves from lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing seawalls. Water poured into city streets in blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed. By early Thursday, water was receding in Jefferson Parish, where streets flooded, but canals were still high, parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said in a social media post. Pumps that operated through the night could not keep up with the storm, causing sewer system problems, she said. She asked residents to give the parish time to clear the streets, noting that the hazards after a storm can sometimes be more dangerous than the storm itself. As the sun rose in Morgan City, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from where Francine made landfall, residents gathered tree branches that were strewn across their yards, where water rose almost to their doors. Pamela Miller, 54, stepped outside to survey the damage after a large tree fell on the roof of her home. “It was a really loud noise, a jolt, and that’s when we realized the tree had come down,” she said. “Luckily it did not go through the roof.” Jeffrey Beadle, 67, emerged from the hotel room where he sheltered for the night. Beadle left his home in low-lying Bayou Louis, about 10 miles outside town, on Wednesday as the rain picked up. He lived there for 30 years without any major damage, but he was worried this time would be different because his home was right in the hurricane’s path. He loaded his car in preparation to check on his home. “There’s nobody over on that end I can call,” he said, explaining that he did not know what he would find. “Hope everything’s good.” Sheriff’s deputies helped evacuate dozens of people, including many small children, who were trapped by rising water Wednesday evening in Thibodaux. Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said deputies also rescued residents in the Kraemer community. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Francine from a tropical storm to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph as it churned north-northeast over Mississippi. The system was expected to continue weakening and become a post-tropical cyclone later Thursday before slowing down and moving over central and northern Mississippi through early Friday. Power outages in Louisiana topped 390,000 early Thursday in Louisiana, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us, with an additional 46,000 outages reported in Mississippi. The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters. In addition to torrential rains, there was a lingering threat of spinoff tornadoes from the storm Thursday in Florida and Alabama. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard would fan out to parishes affected by Francine. The Guard has food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including for search-and-rescue operations. By Jack Brook and Sara Cline, The Associated Press. Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.

Warm water in the Gulf of Mexico helped quickly strengthen Hurricane Francine, creating danger for Louisiana residents rushing to buy supplies and secure their homes ahead of the storm’s landfall Wednesday. Warm ocean water is essential for forming and strengthening hurricanes. Heat helps the water evaporate faster, fueling the storm and producing more rainfall. Mid-September is typically the peak of hurricane season and Francine moved through a part of the ocean that held an exceptional amount of energy. As of Wednesday afternoon, Francine had strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of nearly 100 mph (161 kph). Hear’s how high Gulf of Mexico water temperatures are effecting Francine and the hurricane season: HOW HOT IS THE WATER? The Gulf of Mexico doesn’t need record setting temperatures to form hurricanes this time of year. Still, Francine traveled through water that at the surface, was somewhat hotter than average, but not record setting. The storm passed over a patch that was roughly 86 to 88 degrees (30 to 31 Celsius). What’s exceptional is the amount of heat deeper down. Storms churn up the ocean, bringing to the surface cooler water. Recently, however, that deeper layer was record-setting. It held more heat than at any point in the last decade, according to Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. “This past week was pretty exceptional,” he said. And Francine passed over a patch of water, called an eddy, that was especially hot. Near the coast, however, the water is a bit cooler than average, meaning there’s less energy to strengthen the storm. “It’s window for really intensifying is closed, so that’s good news,” he said. HOW DID FRANCINE REACT? Warmer water lower down matters most for large, strong storms that move slowly — that’s the recipe for churning up a bunch of deeper water. “On the opposite end of that, a weaker, smaller, quicker moving storm will hardly churn up the ocean at all,” said McNoldy. For these storms, the temperature of deeper water matters less. Francine isn’t extremely strong, so the energy stored deeper in the Gulf of Mexico didn’t matter quite as much, according to McNoldy. Still, conditions were favorable enough for the storm to rapidly intensify. On Tuesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Francine had sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph). A day later it’s nearly 100 mph (161 kph). This type of quick change can make storms more dangerous, fast, surprising those in their path. “Our model projections are telling us this is the type of thing that should become much more common as we go forward into the 21st century, as global warming continues to increase,” according to Gabriel Vecchi, a hurricane researcher at Princeton University who also directs its High Meadows Environmental Institute. But there’s other factors reducing Hurricane Francine’s power, according to Bob Smerbeck, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. Nearby dry air has weakened its growth and as the storm gets closer to the coast, winds will disrupt the shape of the hurricane, further reducing its power. “Once it gets inland, it’ll weaken quickly, but it’s going to do a lot of damage along the way,” said Smerbeck. WHAT ABOUT LONG-TERM TRENDS? Federal forecasters predicted an intense hurricane season. And a big storm came historically early. Hurricane Beryl formed in late June and reached Category 5. But at the mid-point of the season, activity has been pretty average, with just six named storms this Atlantic Hurricane season. August was especially quiet, according to Robert West, a hurricane and climate researcher with the University of Miami and affiliated with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. But the Atlantic Coast is far from out of the woods. “It seems like the tropics are kind of waking up a little bit,” West said. The warm temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico will help, continuing to provide fuel. There are long-term trends at play, too. Climate change is heating up oceans around the world, although experts say it is difficult to connect specific hurricane seasons or storms to a warming planet, West said. And there are global weather patterns. Federal forecasters this summer said La Nina could develop. That’s where parts of the Pacific Ocean have cooler water surface temperatures. When that happens, it can reduce winds that weaken hurricanes. “This could be the beginning of a busy period here,” said Smerbeck.

Updated: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at 5:11 p.m. central time MORGAN CITY, La. — Hurricane Francine struck Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm that forecasters warned could bring deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf Coast. Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center announced at 4 p.m. CDT. Packing maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (155 kph), the hurricane crashed into a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. In Morgan City, gas stations had put plywood on the windows and moved trash cans inside, with a few pumps still serving the trickle of cars passing through shortly after dawn. Retired boat captain Pat Simon, 75, and his wife, Ruth, had loaded all their possessions in garbage bags and tied them down in the back of a rented U-Haul pickup truck as they evacuated their home near the banks of the Atchafalaya River near Morgan City. Hurricane season typically peaks around this time of year, but Pat Simon wasn’t overly concerned about Francine. “I don’t think it’s going to be that bad, like some of the other ones like Ida and Katrina,” he said. “I mean, we’ve had some bad ones.” Morgan City, home to around 11,500 people, sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River in south Louisiana and is surrounded by lakes and marsh. It’s described on the city’s website as “gateway to the Gulf of Mexico for the shrimping and oilfield industries.” Larry Doiron, the owner of a Chevron station just outside of Morgan City limits, said he had enough gas to keep pumps operational through the storm. “We’re the only place out here for the sheriff’s department, the fire department. We have gas. All the locals depend on us,” he said. “We’re going to try and stay on top of it and hopefully take care of everybody. Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters to jump from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday night. The National Hurricane Center said Francine might reach Category 2 strength with winds of 96 to 110 mph before crashing into a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. State officials said during a news conference Wednesday morning that the time to evacuate had expired. “Now is the time to hunker down and ride this storm out,” said Tony Robinson, FEMA’s regional administrator for Louisiana. Gov. Jeff Landry urged residents, who have often faced threats of hurricanes, to “stay off the roads, stay home and stay put.” Since the mid-19th century 57 hurricanes have tracked over or made landfall in Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. Among them are some of the strongest, costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history. “I know that we have been through a lot here in Louisiana, but I urge everyone to take the necessary preparations,” Landry said. The governor said the Louisiana National Guard was being sent to parishes that could be impacted by Francine. They have with food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including possible search-and-rescue operations. President Joe Biden granted an emergency declaration that will help Louisiana secure federal money and logistical assistance from partners such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Both Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also declared states of emergency, authorizing them to quickly free up resources for disaster assistance. Francine was centered late Wednesday morning about 150 miles southwest of Morgan City and was moving northeast at 13 mph (20 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, the Miami-based hurricane center said. Some additional strengthening was expected Wednesday morning and then Francine is expected to weaken quickly after it moves inland. A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from Cameron east to Grand Isle, about 50 miles south of New Orleans, according to the center. A storm surge warning stretched from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border. Such a warning means life-threatening flooding could occur. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it distributed more than 100,000 sandbags to the southern part of the state and the Department of Education reported a number of school district closures for Wednesday and Thursday. Bands of heavy rain were hitting New Orleans Wednesday morning. The city’s historic streetcars that roll on South Carrollton Avenue had to ease past cars that motorists parked next to the tracks on the grassy median. The median is a few inches higher than the street and drivers sometimes park there to avoid street flooding. Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches of rain, with the possibility of 12 inches in some spots, Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center. The hurricane center said parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were at risk of “considerable” flash and urban flooding starting Wednesday. The lower Mississippi Valley and lower Tennessee Valley could experience flooding later in the week as the soggy remnants of Francine sweep inland. Francine’s storm surge on the Louisiana coast could reach as much as 10 feet from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said. They said landfall was likely somewhere between Sabine Pass — on the Texas-Louisiana line — and Morgan City, about 220 miles to the east.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.  — In a stunning move, the driver of a pickup truck charged for his role in the four-vehicle crash in March that left a semi dangling off the side of the 2nd Street Bridge had most of his case dismissed by a Jefferson County grand jury last week. Trevor W. Branham, 33, of Jeffersonville, was charged on four counts of wanton endangerment and one count of operating on a suspended license. A grand jury returned a “no true bill” on the felony wanton endangerment charges on Thursday, meaning there was not enough evidence for the case to move forward. Dashcam video of a truck driver’s harrowing journey off of a Louisville bridge showed Sydney Thomas driving a semi-truck across the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge on March 1 when Branham, who was driving pickup driver cut her off, causing her to swerve into the opposite lane and through the bridge’s guardrails. The rig dangled over the Ohio River with Thomas inside for a period of time until rescuers could save her. Witnesses told police that Branham was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic when he hit a stalled vehicle, crossed into the opposite lanes, hit another car with two people inside and then hit the tractor-trailer, according to the arrest report. Thomas’ trailer ended up between the bridge’s girders, balanced on the edge with the cab hanging over the water, and there was constant fear during the rescue that the truck could shift at any moment, Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said at a press conference after the rescue. Thomas was unharmed, but three other vehicles and two people were taken to the hospital. The suspended license charge was sent back to Jefferson District Court. A hearing on that charge has been scheduled for Sept. 27. A spokesman for the Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said the grand jury determined there was not enough evidence to show that Branham was “engaging in conduct creating a substantial danger or serious physical injury.” Attorney Scott Barton, who represents Branham, said the county attorney rushed to judgement because the accident was highly publicized in the media. “We feel terrible for the victims,” he said. “However, it was glamorized, it was like a movie scene.. But it was a car accident, a terrible tragedy that happens every single day. There was no excessive speed, no alcohol … .”  

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Francine formed Monday off the coast of Mexico and was expected to drench the Texas coast with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain before coming ashore in Louisiana Wednesday night as a hurricane. “We’re going to have a very dangerous situation developing by the time we get into Wednesday for portions of the north-central Gulf Coast, primarily along the coast of Louisiana, where we’re going to see the potential for life threatening storm surge inundation and hurricane force winds,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Francine is taking aim at a stretch of coastline that has yet to fully recover since hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake Charles, Louisiana, four years ago. The hurricane center said Francine is located about 245 miles (395 kilometers) southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, and about 480 miles (770 kilometers) south-southeast of Cameron, Louisiana. Francine’s top winds Monday morning were about 50 miles per hour (85 kilometers per hour). A tropical storm is defined by sustained winds between 39 mph and 73 mph (62 kph and 117 kph). Francine should be a hurricane as it approaches the northwestern Gulf Coast on Wednesday, pushing a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters), forecasters said. “Francine is expected to bring heavy rainfall and the risk of considerable flash flooding along the coast of far northeast Mexico, portions of the southernmost Texas coast, the Upper Texas Coast, southern Louisiana, and southern Mississippi into Thursday morning. A risk of flash and urban flooding exists across portions of the Mid-South from Wednesday into Friday morning,” the hurricane center warned.

HIGHLAND, Calif. — An out-of-control wildfire in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles threatened tens of thousands of buildings and forced hundreds of residents to flee Sunday, Sept. 8, amid a days-long heat wave of triple-digit temperatures. The so-called Line Fire was burning along the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 65 miles east of Los Angeles. As of Sunday morning, the blaze had charred about 27 square miles of grass and chaparral, leaving a thick cloud of dark smoke blanketing the area. The fire burned so hot Saturday that it created its own thunderstorm-like weather systems of pyroculumus clouds, which could bring more challenging conditions such as gusty winds and lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service. Firefighters also faced steep terrain, which limited their ability to control the blaze, officials said. The fire remained uncontained Sunday afternoon. County officials, who declared an emergency Saturday evening, issued evacuation orders for Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake, areas east of Highway 330 and other regions. Running Springs resident Steven Michael King said he had planned to stay to fight the fire and help his neighbors until Sunday morning, when the fire escalated. He had prepped his house to prevent fire damage but decided to leave out of fear smoke could keep him from finding a way out later. “It came down to, which is worse, being trapped or being in a shelter?” he said outside an evacuation center Sunday. “When conditions changed, I had to make a quick decision, just a couple of packs and it all fits in a shopping cart.” Arrowbear Lake resident Michael Lee said he left his home with his dog Saturday afternoon. Lee, a photographer, had turned back to retrieve a camera and didn’t get to the evacuation center in Highland until nearly seven hours later. “I wanna get back to home,” Lee said sitting in his car outside the evacuation center. “The triple-digit weather down here is nasty.” State firefighters said three firefighters had been injured and more than 35,000 structures were threatened, including single and multi-family homes and commercial buildings. Authorities issued evacuation orders for several areas. Thunderstorms expected later in the day could make it even more challenging to rein in the fire. “Afternoon thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and potentially influence activity around the fire perimeter,” state firefighters said in a Sunday morning update. “Hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days.” The affected area is near small mountain towns in the San Bernardino National Forest where Southern California residents ski in the winter and mountain bike in the summer. Running Springs is on the route to the popular ski resort town of Big Bear. Joe Franco, a worker at Noah’s Restaurant in the downtown section of San Bernardino, said his friends in the surrounding evacuation zones were gearing up to leave at moment’s notice. Smoke from the fire had already blanketed downtown San Bernardino, Franco said. “They’re just kind of hanging on tight and getting their stuff ready to move,” Franco said of his friends. “Normally they’re here, but a lot of people are not coming today.” The fire prompted Redlands Unified School District to cancel Monday classes for roughly 20,000 students. Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for San Bernardino County Saturday night. More firefighters were expected to arrive Sunday. State officials said vegetation is critically dry in the area and temperatures reached more than 100 degrees (39 degrees Celsius) on Saturday, with relative humidity ideal for the fire to spread. The blaze began Thursday evening, and the cause is under investigation. More than 600 firefighters were battling the fire, supported by water-dropping helicopters that hovered over homes and hillsides, along with other aircraft, according to state firefighters. Cal Fire officials didn’t return calls on Sunday seeking more information about three injured firefighters. The fire produced coiling clouds of dense smoke, and flames could be seen cresting hillside ridges. No homes or other structures had been damaged or destroyed. The National Weather Service said downtown Los Angeles hit a high of 112 degrees Fahrenheit Friday, which marked the third time since 1877 that a temperature that high has been reached there.

A growing wildfire in Northern California forced hundreds of people to evacuate as a heat wave Wednesday threatened to make fire conditions worse. In the Midwest, a wildfire kept residents of South Dakota’s second-largest city on edge, ready to flee if flames moved dangerously close. The expanding blaze near the remote California mountain community of Sierra Brooks was uncontained. Authorities expanded evacuation orders for a total of more than 530 residents Tuesday evening after strong winds pushed flames through dry brush and timber about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Lake Tahoe. The Bear Fire grew to more than 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) and sent up a plume of smoke visible some 25 miles (40 kilometers) away in Reno, Nevada. Across California, red flag warnings for increased wildfire risk were issued. The desert communities of Palm Springs, Twentynine Palms, Needles and Barstow were heating up, with highs of up to 118 F (47.7 Celsius) in Death Valley’s Furnace Creek expected at week’s end. In Southern California’s Santa Barbara County, officials issued a health alert due to spiking temperatures in inland areas. The health department urged residents to stay indoors during the day and take other measures to avoid heat-related illnesses. Cooling centers were set up across Los Angeles County. The wildfire news was better in South Dakota: The battle to contain the First Thunder Fire got a boost Wednesday from cooler weather and lighter winds. Officials were optimistic homes in Rapid City would remain safe. The First Thunder Fire was reported Monday just a few miles (kilometers) from Rapid City, a community of 80,000 residents near Black Hills National Forest. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, is far out of harm’s way. The fire burning nearly 160 acres (65 hectares) was fueled by uncommonly hot and dry weather — Tuesday’s high in Rapid City was 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.6 Celsius), well above the normal early-September high of 75 (23.9 Celsius). Winds gusted to 45 mph (72 kph). As late as Tuesday evening, residents in an evacuation warning area of Rapid City were being told to pack their bags, gather vital belongings and be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. By Wednesday morning, the temperature was far cooler, the winds calmer and the air more humid. “Firefighters got a good handle on the wildfire last night,” an update from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said. “It’s currently at 157 acres. Weather conditions are very favorable today. They are mopping up a large portion on the west side and are hoping to get everything contained and under control today.” Officials don’t yet know what caused the fire that burned across a steep, rocky area. No structural damage was immediately reported. Pennington County, South Dakota, Fire Administrator Jerome Harvey said those residing in the Rapid City area are in a “red zone” where wildfires can occur at virtually any time. “You need to be prepared for that,” Harvey said at a news conference Tuesday. “These kinds of events can happen on a year-round basis. There is no longer a defined fire season.”