MOUNTAIN HOME VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — As a raging wildfire continues to spread east of Los Angeles, driven by days of triple-digit temperatures, a teacher in an evacuation zone is planning to keep instructing online at his home in a Southern California mountain town.
Stephen Richardson, whose 1930s wooden cabin in the unincorporated community of Mountain Home Village is in the path of the Line Fire, said Monday he installed more fire-resistant siding to the structure and trimmed some branches away from his house.
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A plume of smoke from the Line Fire is seen Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, outside of Forest Falls, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighters battle the Airport Fire along Trabuco Creek Road in Trabuco Canyon, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
Members of the Mill Creek Hotshots monitor the Line Fire Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, near Angelus Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Members of the Mill Creek Hotshots monitor the Line Fire Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, near Angelus Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Line Fire burns in the mountains Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, near Forest Falls, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighter Jonathan Lievanos extinguishes hot spots at a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter passes a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Residents watch as firefighters mop up at a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Firefighter Jonathan Lievanos extinguishes hot spots at a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A contract firefighter from Colorado Springs, Colo., douses water on a damaged structure during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A Cal Fire Sikorsky S70i Firehawk helicopter performs a water drop on a hot spot during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A Cal Fire firefighter puts water on a smoldering structure during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Gaudencio Ortiz douses water on a destroyed structure adjacent to his friend's home during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A car sits covered in fire retardant by a home during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters extinguish hot spots as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A fire-fighting aircraft is in action at a forest fire on the Königsberg below the Brocken in the Harz Mountains, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Swen Pförtner/dpa via AP)
Firefighter Nolan Graham works to extinguish a smoldering garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Smoke is seen from the advancing Line Fire through a car window in Mentone, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Fire retardant coats Joel Ayon's car as he drives through a neighborhood impacted by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Wood posts along a railing on the side of a road smolders after the Line Fire swept through Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Fire crews monitor the Line Fire Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Highland, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
A water dropping helicopter hovers over a neighborhood as crews battle the Line Fire Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Highland, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The Line Fire makes a run along a ridge Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Fire crews monitor the Line Fire, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Smoke from the Line Fire fills the air Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The Line Fire jumps highway 330 as an emergency vehicle is driven past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighters battle the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Smoke from the advancing Line Fire rises above a ridge in Mentone in San Bernardino County, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
People watch as the Line Fire advances in Mentone, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Wildfires east of LA, south of Reno, Nevada, threaten homes, buildings, lead to evacuations
Wildfires east of LA, south of Reno, Nevada, threaten homes, buildings, lead to evacuations
Firefighter Nolan Graham sprays water around a scorched garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
“That’s about all I can do, aside from standing on the top of the roof with my garden hose, but that’s not in the plans,” said Richardson, a math and physics instructor at Platt College who planned to meet with his students online before deciding whether to leave the community where he was born and raised.
“If we’re seeing flames and the air gets bad, we’re probably going to head down,” he said.
Southern California mountain community residents like Richardson are mulling whether to stay and protect their homes or leave. Cal Fire spokesperson Rick Carhart said the fire led at least 6,000 people to evacuate.
“We're dealing with triple-digit temperatures and hard-to-reach steep areas where there has not been fire in decades, or in recorded history, so all that vegetation has led to significant fuel loads,” Carhart said.
Mara Rodriguez, a spokesperson with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which issues evacuation orders, said nearly 5,000 homes fell under the existing orders and nearly 17,000 more were under evacuation warnings.
The blaze threatened thousands of home and commercial structures as it burned along the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. As of Monday evening, the blaze had charred about 37 square miles (96 square kilometers) of grass and brush and blanketed the area with a thick cloud of dark smoke. It was 5% contained.
Meanwhile, firefighters were using bulldozers, helicopters and airplanes Monday to control another rapidly spreading blaze that broke out near a remote-controlled airplane airport in Orange County southeast of Los Angeles. The fire spread to about 3 square miles (7.8 square kilometers) in only a few hours.
In Northern California, a fire measuring less than a square mile (2.6 square kilometers) started Sunday and burned at least 30 homes and commercial buildings and destroyed 40 to 50 vehicles in Clearlake City, 110 miles (117 kilometers) north of San Francisco, officials said. Roughly 4,000 people were forced to evacuate by the Boyles Fire, which was about 40% contained Monday afternoon.
The fires are among the most dangerous of the many burning in various parts of California.
About 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) outside Reno, Nevada, the uncontained Davis Fire grew to about 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) after igniting Sunday afternoon. It originated in the Davis Creek Regional Park in the Washoe Valley and was burning in heavy timber and brush, firefighters said.
An emergency declaration issued for Washoe County by Gov. Joe Lombardo on Sunday noted that about 20,000 people were evacuated from neighborhoods, businesses, parks and campgrounds. Parts of south Reno remained under the evacuation notice on Monday, firefighters said, and some homes, businesses and traffic signals in the area were without power.
The Southern California blaze burned so hot Saturday that it created its own thunderstorm-like weather systems of pyroculumus clouds, which can create more challenging conditions such as gusty winds and lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service.
The Reno fire is roughly 480 miles (770 kilometers) to the northeast of the blaze in the San Bernardino National Forest, where firefighters worked in steep terrain in temperatures above 100 degrees (38 Celsius), limiting their ability to control the blaze, officials said. State firefighters said three firefighters had been injured.
Evacuations were ordered Saturday evening 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?” King 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.”
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.
Redlands Unified School District cancelled Monday classes for roughly 20,000 students, and Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for San Bernardino County.
On Sunday, another blaze sparked amid searing heat in Southern California's Angeles National Forest. The blaze burning north of the city of Glendora, in Los Angeles County, was about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers) and zero percent contained Monday evening.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department ordered visitors at a campground and residents of an adjacent river community to evacuate, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Wildfires were burning across the West, including in Idaho where fire managers were prepared for an active day, with warm, dry and windy conditions and even more challenging conditions Tuesday. The Boulder and the Lava Fires are burning in western Idaho.
In central Oregon, firefighters were dealing with a number of blazes that prompted evacuation warnings, including one west of Mount Bachelor on the Deschutes National Forest that was estimated around 80 acres (32.4 hectares) in size.
Associated Press reporter Kathy McCormack in New Hampshire contributed to this story.
A plume of smoke from the Line Fire is seen Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, outside of Forest Falls, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighters battle the Airport Fire along Trabuco Creek Road in Trabuco Canyon, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
Members of the Mill Creek Hotshots monitor the Line Fire Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, near Angelus Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Members of the Mill Creek Hotshots monitor the Line Fire Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, near Angelus Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Line Fire burns in the mountains Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, near Forest Falls, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighter Jonathan Lievanos extinguishes hot spots at a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter passes a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Residents watch as firefighters mop up at a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Firefighter Jonathan Lievanos extinguishes hot spots at a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A contract firefighter from Colorado Springs, Colo., douses water on a damaged structure during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A Cal Fire Sikorsky S70i Firehawk helicopter performs a water drop on a hot spot during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A Cal Fire firefighter puts water on a smoldering structure during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Gaudencio Ortiz douses water on a destroyed structure adjacent to his friend's home during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
A car sits covered in fire retardant by a home during the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters extinguish hot spots as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A fire-fighting aircraft is in action at a forest fire on the Königsberg below the Brocken in the Harz Mountains, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Swen Pförtner/dpa via AP)
Firefighter Nolan Graham works to extinguish a smoldering garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Smoke is seen from the advancing Line Fire through a car window in Mentone, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Fire retardant coats Joel Ayon's car as he drives through a neighborhood impacted by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Wood posts along a railing on the side of a road smolders after the Line Fire swept through Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Fire crews monitor the Line Fire Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Highland, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
A water dropping helicopter hovers over a neighborhood as crews battle the Line Fire Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Highland, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The Line Fire makes a run along a ridge Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Fire crews monitor the Line Fire, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Smoke from the Line Fire fills the air Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The Line Fire jumps highway 330 as an emergency vehicle is driven past Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, near Running Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighters battle the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Smoke from the advancing Line Fire rises above a ridge in Mentone in San Bernardino County, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
People watch as the Line Fire advances in Mentone, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Wildfires east of LA, south of Reno, Nevada, threaten homes, buildings, lead to evacuations
Wildfires east of LA, south of Reno, Nevada, threaten homes, buildings, lead to evacuations
Firefighter Nolan Graham sprays water around a scorched garage as the Boyles fire burns in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate quickly confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day.
Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote, as soon as Tuesday. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, is possible later in the week.
“Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened.
It’s often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new president’s team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trump’s first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day.
With Trump’s return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider Cabinet choices are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.
Rubio, who was surrounded by colleagues in the Senate chamber, said afterward he feels “good, but there’s a lot of work ahead.”
“It’s an important job in an important time, and I’m honored by it,” Rubio said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, announcing he expected voting to begin “imminently” on Trump’s nominees.
Democrats have calculated it's better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. They're holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will “neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”
Rubio, he said, is an example of "a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly."
Senate committees have been holding lengthy confirmation hearings on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously advanced Rubio's nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, voted to move the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe. And the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced nominees Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary and Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget, but with opposition.
Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.
As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nation’s top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on China’s rise.
During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio warned of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. While he echoes Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.
Rubio cultivated bipartisan support from across the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats. He takes over for outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Biden's policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination.
The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance and, soon, Rubio drops the GOP majority further until their successors arrive. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees.
Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.
Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, other nominees and appointments, pose for a photo at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. First row from left, Elise Stefanik, John Ratcliffe, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth, Doug Burgum, Brooke L. Rollins, Marco Rubio and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; second row from left, Scott Turner, Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Duffy, Linda McMahon, Lee Zeldin, Kristi Noem, Chris Wright, Doug Collins, Kelly Loeffler and Scott Bessent; and third row from left, Stephen Miran, Jamieson Greer, Kevin Hassett, Kash Patel and Russell Vought. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a nominee for Secretary of State, attends the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)