Construction work has temporarily shuttered the John Wilkie Safety Roadside Rest Area along Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert.

The fire threat remains critical in Southern California, where thousands of residents were under evacuation orders Wednesday as fire crews battled the out-of-control Hughes Fire near Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is working to expand broadband access in the state as it embarks on a new project to lay more than 200 miles of fiber-optic conduit between Flagstaff and the California state line.

LA County Sheriff says about 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders while another 23,000 were under evacuation warnings.

Press Democrat readers comment on Sonoma State budget cuts, and more

(Photo courtesy of OnScene.TV) Three wildfires broke out along Interstate 15 in northeastern ... Weather Service predicting east winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 65 mph. The first fire was ...

Sacramento, Stockton, Davis and Yuba City will see very little rain on Saturday. A few scattered showers are possible overnight and into early Sunday morning.

A fire has broken out east of Interstate 405 near the Getty Center. The Sepulveda fire has burned 10 acres as of 11:40 p.m. Wednesday ... according to the California Department of Forestry ...

Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.

More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings Wednesday as a huge and fast-moving wildfire swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, as parched Southern California endured another round of dangerous winds and two major previous blazes continued to smolder.

A new study is recommending several changes to Interstate 40 between Albuquerque and the New Mexico-Arizona state line.

The eastbound lanes washed away during flooding from Helen in late September. Crews are working to put anchors into the westbound lanes to hold them in place.