At Oakland's Lake Merritt, a popular spot for joggers, walkers and those looking to be in nature, crews on Wednesday began removing dead crabs, bat rays, striped bass and other fish that began piling up on its rocky shores over the weekend.

Hundreds of firefighters worked on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in high heat to beat back three large wildfires in the forests of far Northern California, where the flames destroyed several homes and forced some communities to evacuate.