A fire spreading through the wilderness of San Diego County near the U.S.-Mexico border exploded to more than 500 acres within several hours on Thursday night. But the blaze, known as the Border 2 fire, was miles from any structures or homes, and firefighters said they were making progress controlling it.

Snow shut down a key interstate north of Los Angeles for hours on Monday while weekend downpours doused wildfires across Southern California in the first significant storm of

So far, many clues to the origins of the deadly Eaton fire, which started in the area just after 6 p.m. that evening and went on to kill 17 people, have pointed to the brushy hillside where a tangle of electrical lines stretch up Eaton Canyon.