Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif. • A highway running the length of California remained closed for a fifth day Sunday near the Oregon border as a wildfire smothered rural forestlands in smoke and flame.
Officials were trying to determine whether it was safe to reopen a 45-mile (72-kilometer) section of Interstate 5 north of Redding. The fire has destroyed thousands of trees — some 70 feet (20 meters) tall — that could fall onto the highway that runs from Mexico to Canada and serves as a main artery for commerce.
Trucks and other traffic were using a smaller road that has added 100 miles (160 kilometers) or more and up to eight hours to the journey.