PARADISE, Calif. — Improved weather Sunday helped crews tamp down several Northern California wildfires that had destroyed dozens of homes and led thousands of residents to evacuate.
Evacuation centers began shutting their doors as many of the 9,000 residents who fled from in and around the Butte County town of Paradise returned Sunday to see the damage.
At least 74 homes were destroyed and 20 others were damaged in the Paradise area, about 90 miles north of Sacramento. The blaze had charred about 36 square miles, said Scott Upton, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The wildfire was 50 percent contained Sunday morning, and Upton said crews expected to have it fully surrounded by today. The cause of the fire had not been determined.
In Santa Cruz County, firefighters got a handle on a wildfire that had charred nearly 1 square mile and destroyed at least three homes and eight other buildings in the Bonny Doon community.
Across the country, fire crews continued to battle a blaze in and around North Carolina’s Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge that has scorched more than 64 square miles. The fire was about 40 percent contained, authorities said.
