Brush

The Monrovia brush fire stands at 170 acres and is only 10% contained, but officials said its growth has slowed thanks to an absence of winds. The fire started about 11 a.m. Saturday morning and has charred brush in steep terrain south of the Arcadia Wilderness Park in northern Monrovia, officials said. No structures are immediately threatened, but about 200 homes have been evacuated, officials said. An overnight shelter has been opened at the local community center at 119 Palm Ave. PHOTOS: Fire in Monrovia City spokeswoman Jennifer McLain said the fire appears to have died down somewhat, and Monrovia Fire Chief Chris Donovan “is very comfortable with the situation.” However crews will be watching for downwinds that can develop in the area at night.

Southern California is marching toward its fourth-driest year since 1877, and that has firefighters increasingly girded for battle. In the hills of Los Angeles County, tests show the brush is drying out at a significantly quicker rate this year because of the lack of rain. In Ventura County, firefighters say the parched conditions feel like what they typically see in June or July. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which handles fire protection for about a third of the state, said it has dealt with 150 more blazes so far this year compared with 2012.

A brush fire caused by live-fire training at Camp Pendleton has burned more than 80 acres, the Marine Corps said Thursday afternoon. The fire is being fought by three trucks and a water tender. There are no reports of injuries or damage to structures and no threat exists to surrounding communities, the Marines said. tony.perry@latimes.com   ALSO: Exotic snakes on the loose at Torrance park Alleged O.C. drug dealer charged with murder in overdose death Coastal commissioner resigns after Vietnam 'carpet bombing' remark

By next month, JPMorgan Chase & Co. will know whether shareholders want to strip the bank's star chief executive of his chairmanship. If a majority supports splitting the roles, what will Jamie Dimon do?  Dimon, who holds both jobs, declined to say in a conference call with reporters early Friday. It was an issue for JPMorgan's board, he said. "You should always listen to your shareholders,” Dimon said. "The board has plenty of time to think it through. " Some major shareholders have been calling for splitting the roles, saying it is a "best practice" for corporate governance.

The second of two hikers rescued after being lost for days in Orange County's brushy back country is in improved condition and will be released from the hospital Monday after being treated for dehydration and other injuries. Kyndall Jack, 18, was rescued from thick brush in the Trabuco Canyon area midday Thursday, the day after her hiking companion, Nicolas Cendoya, was found shoeless and disoriented. The two had become separated after taking off late Easter Sunday on what was to be a routine day hike toward Holy Jim Canyon, a moderate roundtrip trek of less than 3 miles.

An estimated 200 people were ordered to evacuate their homes Monday night as a fire whipped by powerful winds scorched brush in mountainside neighborhoods near Fillmore in Ventura County and burned at least two structures. The fire had burned about 170 acres but there were no reports of injuries. The blaze was sparked by a downed power line as winds gusting to nearly 50 mph battered Southern California. The fierce winds toppled trees, swirled clouds of dust across area highways and left thousands of people without electricity from Elsinore to Lancaster, officials said.

An estimated 200 people in dozens of homes were under mandatory evacuation orders Monday evening as a wind-driven brush fire continued to burn near Fillmore, officials said. About 84 homes were ordered  evacuated in an area north of the 900 block of Central Avenue in Fillmore, Capt. Dave Wareham of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department told The Times. The affected homes were on streets that included Foothill Road,  Arundell Circle and Hunter Drive.  Wareham said that residents were being notified via a reverse 911 system and were being told they could seek shelter at the Fillmore Memorial Building at 2nd Street and Central Avenue.  The blaze, which was sparked by a downed power line, had charred about 50 acres of brush and burned at least one home plus possibly several additional structures, according to fire officials and television news reports.

SACRAMENTO - It was the compliment that spawned a million tweets. And before long, President Obama was apologizing for it. On Thursday, Obama said California's Kamala Harris was the "best-looking attorney general," and commentators raced for their keyboards and smartphones to denounce the remark as sexist or defend it as benign. The next day, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president had called Harris to apologize for the remark and the distraction it caused. The comment, made during a Bay Area fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, had become grist for the nonstop, politically charged news cycle.

In a message posted on his Facebook page Thursday night, one of the hikers who went missing for days in Orange County's Trabuco Canyon thanked the dozens of searchers who scoured the rugged terrain and "didnt give up" on the pair. Nicolas Cendoya, 19, remains hospitalized at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, but said in the message he's "not in as much pain. " He was pulled from Trabuco Canyon on Wednesday night; his friend, Kyndall Jack, 18, wasn't found until late Thursday  morning.

The teenage hiker still missing in the Trabuco Canyon area of Orange County apparently couldn't keep up with her friend as the two tried to make their way out of the brush, possibly because of a twisted ankle, her father said. Russ Jack told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday morning that some information had been gleaned from his daughter's friend, Nicholas Cendoya, 19, who was rescued Wednesday night. Cendoya and Kyndall Jack, 18, called authorities Easter Sunday and said they were lost.