Firefighters battle California wildfires amid searing heat September 01, 2022 at 06:44AM

California wildfires chewed through rural areas north of Los Angeles and east of San Diego on Thursday, racing through bone-dry brush and prompting evacuations as the state sweltered under a heat wave that could last through Labor Day.The Route Fire near Castaic in northwestern Los Angeles County raged through more than 8 square miles of hills containing scattered houses.