MSN NewsUS firefighters have battled huge blazes, including one that burned homes and forced residents and visitors on Santa Catalina Island to flee the resort off the southern California coast.
Dozens of fire engines arrived through the night aboard giant military hovercraft from the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton. The high-speed hovercraft can carry 60 tons over land or water and are often used by the military on humanitarian missions.
The blaze broke out on Thursday afternoon on the island more than 20 miles off the coast.
Flames threatened the city limits of Avalon, where hundreds of people lined up at the harbour to board ferries back to the mainland. Many covered their faces with towels and bandanas as ashes fell.
A few homes burned but firefighters were protecting other properties late into the night, Avalon Fire Chief Steven Hoefs said. About 1,200 homes were under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders.
In Georgia, a second wildfire in Okefenokee Swamp has burned more than 100,000 acres, rivalling in just five days the vast record-setting fire that has scorched south-east Georgia for more than three weeks, firefighters said.
The rapidly growing fire, fed by fast-burning swamp grasses, was ignited ON Saturday by a lightning strike in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
Georgia and Florida have been battling wildfires for weeks, with nearly 300 square miles charred as a drought has left the land tinder-dry.
Smoke-filled air created a burning smell and a dusting of ashes that coated cars and buildings through much of Florida and south-eastern Georgia. The haze over Florida forced the closure of several highways.
Health officials warned the elderly, small children and people with breathing problems to stay indoors, although some areas were not as smoky. No one has died in the fires and just one firefighter had minor injuries.
