Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Tuesday for a vegetation fire burning in Northern California’s Lake County. Cal Fire said an approximately 4-acre blaze, called the Harbor Fire, had a “rapid rate of spread” in Kelseyville, near Clear Lake. The fire was burning uphill, Cal Fire said in social media posts just before 5 p.m.

Apocalyptic-looking plumes of smoke filled skies east of Los Angeles on Tuesday as firefighters battled three major wildfires that erupted amid a blistering heat wave and threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures.

The Southern California community of Wrightwood faces intense wildfires, leading to numerous evacuations. Major fires also impact regions across the West, with homes and structures at risk. Despite cooler temperatures offering respite,