Arizona Bush Fire doubles in size as California wildfires break out

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ABC NewsBy MAX GOLEMBO, ABC News(NEW YORK) — Evacuations are still in place as the Bush Fire rages in Arizona, where it has almost doubled in size since Wednesday morning. Arizona’s Bush Fire, which is the largest in the country, is now 104,379 acres and only 5% contained. New evacuations have been issued for the Mangum Fire in northern Arizona, which has grown to 56,780 acres and is only 3% contained. The nearby Big Horn Fire, where evacuations are still in place, has burned at least 23,892 acres and is 40% contained. Over the next few days, the windy conditions should subside as a huge ridge of high pressure moves into the area. There are still red flag warnings in Colorado and California, where winds will still be gusty Thursday.Gusty winds and dry conditions helped to explode several fires in central California. Several brush fires broke out Wednesday in northern California around Sacramento, including the Nelson Fire, where three homes were destroyed and two were damaged. Also near Sacramento, evacuations are in place due to the Walker Fire, which has grown to 1,100 acres and is only 35% contained. It has destroyed two structures and threatened 50.The good news is that this high pressure will relax the winds, but the bad news is that it will bring more dry air and heat to the area. The dry air will make fighting these ongoing fires more difficult for firefighters as we get into the weekend.Moving east, up to 10 inches of rain fell in Virginia in the last three days, causing significant flash flooding, washed out roads and a couple of water rescues. This slow-moving area of low pressure will continue to meander in the Mid-Atlantic over the next few days bringing a chance for more rain and thunderstorms. Over the next few days, localized areas could see more than 3 inches of rain, which could cause additional flooding.In the Midwest, a storm system is moving into the regions that could bring severe storms from Minnesota to Kansas, where damaging winds and large hail will be the biggest treat. This is the same storm system that brought up to 16 inches of snow to the Rockies in the last two days. This storm system will slow down in the Midwest, and will continue to bring showers and thunderstorms to the area for a few days, some of the rain could be heavy, where more than 4 inches of rain is possible.

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