 Greg Clugston, Washington. Also at SRNNews.com, crews battling a dozen wildfires in California, including one that has forced people to flee their homes in Oroville, north of Sacramento. Fires burn in the midst of a stubborn heat wave. It shows no sign of letting up. The heat in the west in particular looks to persist through the week, and if we look at the extended outlook, the overall pattern favors above normal temperatures even going out a couple weeks from now.