Evacuations

A wind-driven brush fire Tuesday in the Santa Barbara foothills charred at least 420 acres, forced the evacuation of about 1,000 homes and renewed grim memories of the devastating fires that swept through the area last fall. The Jesusita fire started about 1:50 p.m., racing through thick chaparral on the slopes above San Roque Canyon. It was burning about a mile west of November's Tea fire, which destroyed more than 200 homes in Santa Barbara and Montecito.

About a dozen residents of Maurice Avenue on the north end of an island of La Crescenta homes known as Briggs Terrace found themselves in the middle of the street late Saturday, taking stock of their situation. They were surrounded by fire on three sides, and there were no firefighters or law enforcement in sight. Someone asked a question that was on everyone's mind: Is anybody leaving? All shook their heads. The evacuation order had come after nightfall for the Briggs Terrace area, a collection of century-old Craftsman and cabin-style homes, along with newer stucco homes.

More than 3,500 homes in two Western states were under wildfire evacuation orders Saturday as flames gained ground in the canyons of northern Colorado and a new blaze devoured sagebrush in Utah, officials said. Authorities believe the Utah blaze, called the Dump fire, was sparked when a bullet grazed a rock on public land near a landfill popular as an unofficial shooting range. The fire tore through more than 6,000 acres of grassland near Utah Lake, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City.

The fires that have swept through Southern California forced hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate, triggered numerous road closures and prompted school officials to cancel classes throughout the region. For the latest updates, check www.latimes.com. Angeles National Forest * Closure effective today and lasting until the extreme conditions subside. County roads and state highways, such as the Angeles Crest Highway, will remain open to through traffic.

Wildfires cast a pall across southern Florida, forcing the evacuation of state prisoners in Miami-Dade County, keeping schoolchildren indoors and triggering health alerts. A fire in Everglades National Park threatened the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. More than 62,000 acres in the state have burned since May 1, and 1,000 fires have been reported this year.

Several businesses and homes were evacuated after a man left a briefcase, which authorities treated as a possible bomb, at a Huntington Beach intersection, police said. The briefcase was left Thursday morning at Brookhurst Street and Yorktown Avenue, police said. Authorities determined the briefcase was empty. Three businesses in a nearby strip mall and nine homes were evacuated.

The rain-swollen Mississippi River inundated evacuated neighborhoods in the Mississippi Delta on Wednesday and washed away precious crops, as residents farther downstream prepared for the looming floodwaters. After cresting at 47.8 feet Tuesday in Memphis, Tenn., the river's high waters moved south, reaching 58 feet and growing in Natchez, Miss., the National Weather Service said. The river is expected to crest there at 64 feet on May 21. Across Mississippi, about 1,000 structures have been hit by floodwaters, and officials expect to evacuate between 2,000 and 5,000 people in coming days.

* Newport Beach/Brimlee tract (30 to 40 homes) * Turtle Rock, Irvine * UCI student housing and Bren Center * Laguna Beach (residents may re-enter with proper ID by using South Coast Highway from Crown Valley Parkway) VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS * Dove Canyon * Coto De Caza * Rancho Santa Margarita SHELTERS/USERS Location: People * Newport Beach, Corona del Mar High School: 25 * Dana Point, Dana Hills High School: 504 * Mission Viejo, Saddleback College: 30 * San Juan Capistrano, Old Fire Station: not

When up to 27,000 Southeast Los Angeles County residents fled a toxic gas cloud early Saturday morning, they unwittingly formed one of California's largest-scale evacuations. Yet officials attributed the large numbers not to the severity of the incident, but to the density of Los Angeles County. As Northridge toxics expert Dr.