The 22-year-old Williams has been one of the top rising talents since he excelled in helping Spain win the 2024 European Championship last summer.

Barcelona was reportedly keen on trying to sign him.

Instead, Athletic said Williams will sign a new deal that gives him an eight-year extension. His current contract was through 2027.

Nico and his older brother Iñaki are fan favorites for Athletic, which only fields players from Spain’s northern Basque Country region and neighboring territories.

Athletic will play in the Champions League next season after finishing La Liga in fourth place.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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At least 15 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, including eight women and one child. Another 20 were shot while waiting for aid, according to Nasser Hospital, including two who were killed near distribution sites in Rafah and 18 who were waiting for trucks to deliver supplies elsewhere in southern Gaza.

The recent killings took place as efforts to halt the 21-month war appeared to be moving forward.

Hamas said Friday that it was holding discussions with leaders of other Palestinian factions to discuss a ceasefire proposal presented to it by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.

Hamas will give its final response to mediators after the discussions have concluded, the statement said.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said the number of Palestinians killed in the territory has passed 57,000. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.

According to Palestinian witnesses and Gaza’s Health Ministry, several hundred people have been killed or wounded by Israeli troops when trying to reach the aid sites since they opened in May.

The military has repeatedly said it’s fired only warning shots, denies deliberately firing towards civilians, and says it’s looking into reports of civilian harm.

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Kullab reported from Jerusalem.

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The explosion was heard across the Italian capital shortly after 8 a.m., sending up a huge cloud of dark smoke and fire visible from several areas of the city.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said around 20 people suffered slight injuries.

Gualtieri said local police and firefighters rushed to the area after they were alerted about a gas leak. Two explosions followed after they arrived, he added.

Elisabetta Accardo, a spokesperson for the Roman police, said that eight police officers were injured after arriving for rescue operations.

“There were a few chain explosions after the first one,” Accardo told Italian state broadcaster RAI. “All the policemen injured suffered burns, but they are not in danger of life.”

Fire department spokesperson Luca Cari said one firefighter was also injured in the explosion, but “not seriously.” Ten teams were at work on the site, he added.

Police said they were checking the whole surrounding area for people who were injured or trapped in nearby buildings.

Rome prosecutors have started a probe into what caused the explosion.

A sports center located near the gas station was evacuated swiftly by police following the first explosion, with several children brought to safety.

Residents interviewed by local media said the explosion was so loud and violent that it struck nearby buildings “like an earthquake.”

Pope Leo XIV said he was praying for those affected by the explosion, which happened “in the heart of my Diocese.”

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was closely following the developments.

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Mayer said his bid was about “restoring genuine democracy” inside the FIA after a centralization of power under Ben Sulayem.

Mayer is the son of McLaren team co-founder Teddy Mayer. He has held senior roles in U.S. racing series and was a long-time F1 steward until last year.

Ben Sulayem, elected to the post in 2021, has faced criticism over his management. In April, Robert Reid resigned as FIA deputy president for sport in protest against how the organization is run.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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Some hugged and wept before entering the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where the funeral for the siblings is planned for Saturday.

Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, André Silva, were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames.

Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family, Spanish government officials said.

Jota and his parents both have homes in Gondomar, where he started his playing career as a child. Gondomar is a working-class town next to Porto, where Jota was born.

Jota’s death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier League title. The couple had three children, the youngest born last year.

Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said.

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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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It’s set to be a sunny, warm day as people throughout the D.C. area mark the United States’ 249th birthday. Many businesses and services have closed down or reeled back their hours to enjoy the holiday weekend.

Of course, the grand star-studded event is Friday night on the National Mall.

“A Capitol Fourth” concert will get the crowd in a patriotic mood ahead of D.C.’s iconic fireworks show. It all kicks off at 8 p.m.

More July Fourth news

• WATCH: Fireworks dazzle on the National Mall
• Road closures, Metro changes accompany July Fourth weekend in DC
• What’s open, closed on July Fourth
• These phone settings will improve your July Fourth fireworks pics
• Fireworks, parades, performances: Where to see July Fourth celebrations in DC area
• ‘A Capitol Fourth,’ scavenger hunts: July Fourth events at the National Mall

The National Mall is prime real estate for fireworks viewing, while others will likely tuck onto rooftops around the city to catch glimpses of the display.

Anyone heading downtown should consider public transit, as road closures span from Virginia’s Arlington to D.C.

Metro might be the best option for people heading to the National Mall fireworks show, the Nationals game or the Beyoncé concert in Landover, Maryland.

But, the District isn’t the only place onlookers will be gazing at fireworks — and hopefully, capturing some crystal clear pictures to share.

This weekend, fireworks shows and parades are planned throughout the D.C. area.

Montgomery County, Maryland, is setting off fireworks for two nights in a row. The shows will be held on Friday and Saturday, both starting at 7 p.m.

One of the largest fireworks shows in Virginia will be held on Saturday night in Lorton.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had received credentials from Afghanistan’s newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. The official recognition of the Afghan government will foster “productive bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called it a historic step, and quoted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as welcoming the decision as “a good example for other countries.”

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. Since then, they have sought international recognition while also enforcing their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

While no country had formally recognized the Taliban administration until now, the group had engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.

Still, the Taliban government has been relatively isolated on the world stage, largely over its restrictions on women.

Although the Taliban initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, it started to enforce restrictions on women and girls soon after the 2021 takeover. Women are barred from most jobs and public places, including parks, baths and gyms, while girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade.

Russian officials have recently been emphasizing the need to engage with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan, and lifted a ban on the Taliban in April.

Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, said in remarks broadcast by state Channel One television that the decision to officially recognize the Taliban government was made by President Vladimir Putin on advice from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Zhirnov said the decision proves Russia’s “sincere striving for the development of full-fledged relations with Afghanistan.”

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The barrage injured at least 23 people and inflicted severe damage across multiple districts of the capital in a seven-hour onslaught. Blasts lit up the night sky and echoed across the city as air raid sirens wailed. The blue lights of emergency vehicles reflected off high-rise buildings, and debris blocked city streets.

“It was a harsh, sleepless night,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. Less than a week ago Russia launched what was then the largest aerial assault of the war. That strategy has coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure.

Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine during the night, the country’s air force said. The majority were Shahed drones, but Russia also launched 11 missiles in the attack.

Alya Shahlai, a 23-year-old Kyiv wedding photographer, said her home was destroyed in the attack.

“We were all in the (basement) shelter because it was so loud, staying home would have been suicidal,” she told The Associated Press. “We went down 10 minutes before and then there was a loud explosion and the lights went out in the shelter, people were panicking.”

Trump ‘not happy’ with Russia’s attacks

The attack on Kyiv began the same day a phone call took place between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy called the timing of the strikes a deliberate signal that Moscow has no intention of ending the war.

Trump said he would call Zelenskyy on Friday. U.S-led international peace efforts have been fruitless so far. Recent direct peace talks have led only to sporadic exchanges of prisoners of war and fallen soldiers.

When asked if he made any progress with Putin on a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, he said: “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”

“I’m not happy about that. I’m not happy about that,” Trump said of Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I don’t think he’s looking to stop” the war, Trump said later of Putin.

According to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the “root causes” of the conflict.

“Russia will not back down from these goals,” Ushakov told reporters after the call.

Russia’s army crossed the border on Feb. 24, 2022, in an all-out invasion that Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO. Zelenskyy has repeatedly called out Russian disinformation efforts.

Pentagon halts deliveries of air defense missiles

The U.S. has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defense missiles. Ukraine’s main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelenskyy says plans are afoot to build up Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time.

Throughout the night, Associated Press journalists in Kyiv heard the constant buzzing of drones overhead and the sound of explosions and intense machine gun fire as Ukrainian forces tried to intercept the aerial assault.

“Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on social media platform X. “One of the worst so far.”

Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko described “families running into metro stations, basements, underground parking garages, mass destruction in the heart of our capital.”

“What Kyiv endured last night, cannot be called anything but a deliberate act of terror,” she wrote on X.

Kyiv was the primary target of the countrywide attack. At least 14 people were hospitalized, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Russia strikes 5 Ukrainian regions

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 270 targets, including two cruise missiles. Another 208 targets were lost from radar and presumed jammed.

Russia successfully hit eight locations with nine missiles and 63 drones. Debris from intercepted drones fell across at least 33 sites.

In addition to the capital, the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions also sustained damage, Zelenskyy said.

Emergency services reported damage in at least five of the capital’s 10 districts. In Solomianskyi district, a five-story residential building was partially destroyed and the roof of a seven-story building caught fire. Fires also broke out at a warehouse, a garage complex and an auto repair facility.

In Sviatoshynskyi district, a strike hit a 14-story residential building, sparking a fire. Several vehicles also caught fire nearby. Blazes were also reported at non-residential facilities.

In Shevchenkivskyi district, an eight-story building came under attack, with the first floor sustaining damage. Falling debris was recorded in Darnytskyi and Holosiivskyi districts.

Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said drone strikes damaged rail infrastructure in Kyiv.

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Vasilisa Stepanenko contributed from Kyiv, Ukraine

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

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A year later, according to the Library of Congress, a spontaneous celebration in Philadelphia marked the anniversary of American independence.

But observations weren’t commonplace until after the War of 1812, when they quickly took off. Congress was late to the party, finally passing a law making Independence Day a federal holiday on June 28, 1870.

Here’s what is open and closed this year on the Fourth of July:

Government buildings

Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.

Banks and the stock market

U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Friday. Most FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will also not be available.

Retailers

Warehouse membership club Costco is closed on July Fourth. Most other major national retailers such as Target and Walmart will be open, with some offering promotional sales to lure customers. Most grocery stores are also open. Hours may vary by location, so check your local store.

Travel

Millions of Americans are expected to hit the road, taking advantage of the Fourth of July falling on a Friday this year.

Spokeswoman Adrienne Woodland said AAA is forecasting that a record 72.2 million Americans will travel domestically between June 28 and July 6, an increase of 1.7 million over last year and 7 million more than in 2019. AAA estimates 61.6 million Americans will drive and 5.8 million travelers will fly.

Woodland recommended that anyone traveling over the holiday should consider taking precautions, including a pre-trip inspection of their vehicle to avoid issues such as dead batteries, flat tires and empty gas tanks.

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Associated Press journalist Mike Householder in Michigan contributed to this report.

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On Friday, it’ll be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 80s. It’ll be dry and less humid than the past week had been in the region.

“Grab the sunglasses, you’ll definitely need them. Hardly a cloud in the sky,” 7News First Alert meteorologist Steve Rudin said.

Clear skies will last through the night, so fireworks revelers will have a great sight. Temperatures will drop into the 60s by nightfall with light winds up to 10 mph.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has also put a Code Orange air quality alert in the forecast for Friday, where sensitive populations might have a harder time doing activities outdoors.

AirNow recommends groups, including older people and children, reduce their exposure to the outdoors and limit strenuous activities that could make it hard to breathe. “Fine particulates” will especially be in the air when fireworks go off.

Saturday will be calm again with temperatures in the near-90s and gentle breezes. Humidity will increase but won’t be as muggy for this time of the season.

By Sunday, the weather will be mostly to partly sunny as temperatures climb into the low 90s. There’s a possibility for scattered showers and thunderstorms later in the evening.

Looking ahead

A cold front from the north pushes its way into the D.C. region on Monday, when uncomfortable humidity and the possibility for storms return to the forecast.

It’ll be mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 90s, according to the National Weather Service.

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Forecast

FRIDAY: INDEPENDENCE DAY
Mostly Sunny
Highs: 85-89
Winds: Northwest 5-10 mph
Fantastic weather is expected for the 4th of July with sunshine and comfortable high temperatures in the mid 80s. Humidity levels will also be very low considering the time of year.

FIREWORKS FORECAST: Clear skies; Air quality alert
Temps: Upper 70s
Winds: Northwest 2-5 mph
The fireworks are set to go off at 9:09 p.m. on the National Mall. Weather should not impact the display, but if you have asthma, heart, lung, or respiratory issues, you’ll want to monitor how you feel. The fireworks can release particulate matter into the air that can make it harder to breathe for some. A Code Orange Air Quality Alert is in effect for D.C. and Northern Virginia for during and after the fireworks shows.

OVERNIGHT: Mainly clear
Lows: 64-69
Winds: Light
A very comfortable night for early July is in store with overnight lows dipping into the mid to upper 60s.

SATURDAY: Mostly sunny
Highs: near 90
Winds: South 5-10 mph
Nice weather continues with plenty of sun, a slight uptick in the stickiness factor and highs near 90.

SUNDAY: Mostly to partly sunny
Highs: 88-93
Winds: South 5-10 mph
The long holiday weekend draws to a close with mostly to partly sunny skies and highs ranging from the upper 80s to lower 90s.

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Mabhiza joined in. For the next several hours, he scoured the sites around Harare, using a stick or his bare hands to sift through piles of filth, from discarded diapers to broken appliances. By midday, his pushcart was full. Springs from old mattresses, car parts, tin cans — it all added up to 66 kilograms (145 pounds) of salvaged metal.

The haul earned him $8. It’s enough to feed his five children for the day, maybe even cover a utility bill in a country where the majority of people survive through informal work.

“I have given up looking for a formal job,” the 36-year-old said. “You walk the industrial areas all day and come back with nothing. This is my job now. I pay rent, my children eat and go to school.”

Across Harare, thousands like Mabhiza live off scrap metal. Quietly, they are helping to sustain a cleaner environment and combat climate change.

Making steel relies heavily on burning highly polluting coal, and the industry accounts for nearly 8% of the carbon dioxide emissions that come from the energy sector and contribute to Earth’s warming, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. It takes less energy to turn scrap metal into new steel, so the pickers are helping reduce carbon emissions with their work in addition to cleaning up metals that would otherwise pollute the city.

1,000 tons of waste per day

Harare generates about 1,000 tons of waste every day, most of which goes uncollected, according to the city council. People and companies frustrated with erratic collection dump trash on roadsides and open spaces. They sometimes burn it. Once-pristine neighborhoods have become polluted eyesores.

Recently, the city council partnered with a green energy waste management company to improve collection amid contested accusations of corruption. But for now, informal pickers like Mabhiza remain indispensable.

“It’s a dirty job, yes, but people rarely understand how important it is,” said Fungai Mataga, who runs a scrap metal collection center where Mabhiza and others sell their finds. “They are society’s cleaning crew. Every piece of metal they bring here is one less item polluting our land.”

Globally, this kind of scrap metal is vital to the steel industry, accounting for roughly a third of metallic raw materials used in steel production, according to the OECD.

With growing concerns over the environmental impact of mining and rising interest in circular economies, demand for recycled materials is increasing.

Informal pickers are the “unsung heroes,” said Joyce Machiri, head of the mining and extractives program at the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association.

“When you look at scrap, no one would actually say, ‘Wow, this a good job.’ But look at it this way, these are some of the green jobs we are talking about,” Machiri said.

Recycled metal is key for the steel industry

Many steelmakers cannot afford to invest in new, cleaner technologies. That makes scrap recycling a critical — and accessible — alternative.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that recycling steel and tin cans saves 60% to 74% of the energy required to produce them from raw materials.

Although there are no official statistics on the number of scrap metal collectors in Zimbabwe due to the informal nature of their work, they are unmistakable.

In Hopley, a poor township in Harare, they streamed into a dusty open lot where they sell their scrap. Some pushed carts. Others carried sacks on their heads. One woman brought a small plastic bag with just enough metal to earn a few cents to buy vegetables for dinner.

Inside the yard, heaps of junk like old fridges, microwaves, cups, water heater tanks, generators and car engines were weighed on a giant old scale. Workers handed out cash and loaded the metal onto a 30-ton truck destined for a steelmaker that will buy it for between $220 and $260 a ton.

Factories in the southern African country of 16 million people consume about 600,000 tons of scrap metal annually, all locally collected, said Dosman Mangisi, chief operations officer of the Zimbabwe Institute of Foundries, an association of metal casting businesses.

Tough and dangerous job: ‘I hope I can afford gloves one day’

The job of hunting scrap metal is grueling and hazardous. Hunters rise before dawn, walking kilometers to scavenge from landfills, industrial zones, homes and roadside dumps. Some sleep near illegal dumpsites, waiting for trucks that unload waste overnight to avoid arrest.

“I have been lucky not to fall sick,” said Lovemore Sibanda, a security guard who collects scrap on his days off. “But I am always worried. I hope I can afford gloves one day.”

Metal hunters such as Mabhiza and Sibanda have seen it all, from medical waste such as syringes and expired medicines to rotting carcasses of pets such as dogs and cats thrown away by their owners.

“At first, I would lose my appetite for days after seeing things like that,” said Sibanda. “Now, I am used to it. This is my office. This is where the money is.”

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. For global health and development coverage in Africa, the AP receives financial support from the Gates Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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The bus, operated by Flixbus, left the Autobahn motorway in the pre-dawn hours on an exchange leading to the city of Röbel, about 140 kilometers (85 miles) north of Berlin, police said.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

23 people were injured on the bus carrying 53 passengers and two drivers from Copenhagen to Vienna, according to Flixbus. Rescuers took about two hours to extract one seriously injured victim.

Emergency services, the fire brigade and a rescue helicopter responded. Authorities sealed off the area of the road throughout Friday morning.

Flixbus expressed “great dismay” that the bus crashed and said it was working with authorities to determine the cause of the incident.

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But as dinosaur knowledge has changed and improved, generally, the “Jurassic” franchise hasn’t tried too hard to keep up with that changing understanding, explained Thomas Holtz, a paleontologist at the University of Maryland.

However, that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy the latest movie, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” even if a few liberties were taken.

“(Spinosaurus) was featured in the third movie. But since ‘Jurassic Park III,’ we’ve learned that it’s more aquatic than we once thought,” Holtz said.

“In this movie, they make it not merely aquatic, but they have it out in the open seas for a while. And even the proponents of a swimming Spinosaurus don’t argue it would swim way far away from shore. So it’s there to be exciting, but that’s not really based on the actual understanding of this creature,” he added.

While the newest movie in the saga is set on a fictional tropical island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, at least one of the dinosaurs that it features prominently this time, dubbed Delores, used to roam the D.C. area when the landscape was radically different.

“It’s supposed to be Aquilops,” Holtz said. “Aquilops was an early relative of Triceratops. We actually have teeth from here in Maryland, from the site up in Laurel, of something like Aquilops or a very close relative. Our rocks here are about the same age as the rocks out west, where Aquilops was first discovered.”

“So fans of the little dinosaur Dolores can know that a creature very much like it used to wander here in Maryland and, of course, the D.C. and Virginia region, back in the middle of the Cretaceous period,” he added.

And he did notice other little details in the movie — ones that aren’t necessarily key to the story but which still mix in some of the newer scientific discoveries and theories about dinosaurs. For instance, something subtle and otherwise unmentioned stood out to him when the Titanosaurus appeared.

“When characters are up close near it, you see little bristles, little hair-like bristles along its legs,” Holtz said. “Now, we don’t yet have those known from these particular dinosaurs, but many other types of dinosaurs had simple fuzz-like structures, and this is — to my knowledge — the first time anyone has shown some bit of fuzz or fuzz equivalents on a sauropod. They don’t make a point about it.”

He said if you hadn’t known about “dinosaur hair” you might not notice why it was odd in the movie. But to him, as “a scientist who knows dinosaurs, that was a cool little bit.”

“They snuck a little bit of modern paleontology … and speculative paleontology — but still supported by the evidence,” he explained. “But they don’t make a big deal about it, which is kind of nice, to put things in there so that subliminally, people might be picking up on some ideas, even if it’s not the primary focus of the story or the adventure.”

It’s things like that that has this paleontologist giving “Jurassic World Rebirth” a thumbs-up. He describes it as a fun, summer action movie, even if the series drifts further away from science by introducing mutant species.

“The movies lately in the ‘Jurassic’ series have been very much monster movies,” Holtz said. “To be fair, the first one was inspired by the old monster movies. But I think it’s telling that they get a lot of their excitement in the more recent movies by inventing creatures — various sorts of hybrids and mutants, rather than the original, relatively pristine dinosaurs themselves.”

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The team said in a statement Friday that Nielsen will start in his role in September ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. He will be reporting to the team’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore. The pair has been enjoying a strong relationship for years.

Nielsen’s appointment came in the wake of Oli Oakes’ departure from the Team Principal role in May, a move that had left Briatore covering Oakes’ duties.

“The appointment marks a return to the team for Nielsen, who is one of the most long-standing and well-respected figures in the sport and has previously spent multiple stints at Enstone for Benetton and Renault, most notably as Sporting Director during the 2005 and 2006 championship winning years,” Alpine said.

Nielsen has also worked with other teams and held roles at the FIA and Formula One.

Alpine is 10th in the constructors’ standings

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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The Madre Fire became California’s largest blaze so far this year, ripping through grasslands after breaking out Wednesday in southeastern San Luis Obispo County. It swiftly grew to more than 82 square miles (212 square kilometers). It was just 10% contained by Thursday evening.

Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for tiny communities near State Route 166 as flames moved through hilly terrain toward the Carrizo Plain National Monument, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Santa Maria. The region about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles contains vast grasslands that draw visitors in the spring to see its wildflowers.

Part of Route 166 East was closed Thursday, and there was “no estimate for re-opening,” California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, said on social media.

The fire was pushed by summer gusts that typically increase as the sun starts going down, said meteorologist Ryan Kittell with the National Weather Service.

“The winds are pretty light during the day, but they do pick up pretty substantially in the afternoon and evening hours,” Kittell said.

He said gusts could reach 40 mph (64 kph) later in the day Thursday, posing new challenges for firefighters working in 95-degree F heat (35 C).

Dozens of smaller wildfires were burning across the state.

Southern California’s Wolf Fire reached 55% containment Thursday after charring more than 3.7 square miles (9.5 square kilometers) of dry brush since breaking out June 29 in Riverside County east of Los Angeles.

Unrelated to the wildfires, a fire burned four homes in the Pacoima neighborhood before being brought under control Thursday night. Fireworks were exploding when crews arrived at the scene and a woman was transported to a hospital in critical condition, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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