Fire crews elsewhere in California were trying to contain new blazes:
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A 7,000-acre fire in San Bernardino County in Southern California that Cal Fire, the state fire agency, said was started
- when a “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device.” A family was using the device in a gender-reveal celebration when it ignited four-foot-tall dry grass. (A 2018 wildfire in Arizona was also set off during a gender-reveal party.). Capt. Bennet Milloy of Cal Fire said Monday morning that the family called 911, stayed at the scene and provided photos to investigators. Charges were being considered, he said, but their scope would not be determined until the fire was extinguished.
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A 9,850-acre fire burning in the Cleveland National Forest east of San Diego that had destroyed 11 structures by Sunday night.
The fires have added to the pain of an already brutal wildfire season across the West. More than 1.6 million acres have burned in California alone.
Fire officials in Montana were trying to assess the damage of the Bridger Foothills Fire, which exploded over the weekend near Bozeman and burned at least 7,000 acres, destroying an as yet unknown number of homes.
Around Denver, ash fell from the sky on Sunday from a huge wildfire burning north of Rocky Mountain National Park, which forced park officials to close a popular sightseeing road. Hot, dry weather in the area was expected to give way to an early-season snowstorm on Tuesday, raised hope for some relief from the fires.
Christina Morales contributed reporting.