California wildfires

The wildfires in California's wine country are coming in the midst of a near-record fire season nationwide. Researchers say a warming climate is a factor.

Officials say that they have moved into "recovery mode" in some areas and expect to find many more bodies.

As wildfires spread through Northern California counties, clouds of smoke and ash are spreading, too, far beyond the flames. Air quality officials have a database that's searchable by ZIP code.

The video raises a central question, given that much of the area is under a mandatory evacuation order and curfew: Who's going to get that mail?

Wildfires that spread quickly in Northern California meant that hospitals had to evacuate on the fly. One woman in the middle of childbirth tells her story.

"Make no mistake," Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said in an update around midday Wednesday. "This is a serious, critical, catastrophic event." High winds are predicted to return Wednesday night.

The La Tuna fire near Los Angeles — one of several burning in California, Montana and Oregon — is one-third contained. But firefighters warn there is still much to be done to bring it under control.

One blaze forced people to flee cabins in the Los Padres National Forest and briefly stranded some 90 children and 50 counselors near a lake.

Four years of too little water is killing millions of trees in the Sierra, yet some giant sequoias still thrive. Tree-climbing scientists are exploring sequoias branch by branch to find their secret.

A wildfire near San Jose, Calif. has destroyed a dozen homes, and threatens more than 150 structures. Meanwhile, the massive Soberanes fire is still burning two months after it began.

Crews surrounded the San Bernardino County fire Tuesday. Meanwhile, multiple wildfires continue to bedevil crews, including one near a historic estate built by William Randolph Hearst.