Photo: Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images
A wave of cooler temperatures and humidity is quelling the wildfires that spread across California in recent weeks, allowing thousands of evacuated residents to return to their homes, AP reports.
The big picture: At least seven people have died as hundred of wildfires burned 2,000 square miles. Approximately 170,000 residents were facing evacuation orders at the fires' peak.
- Evacuation orders have been specifically lifted for approximately 50,000 residents in the San Francisco Bay Area and wine country, AP notes.
- Electricity and water is still damaged in some areas, preventing safe homecomings for some.
- Firefighting crews have been stretched thin by the destruction, resulting in 200 active duty U.S. troops being mobilized in the state.