News in brief

By The Associated Press

Colorado dairy worker tests positive for bird flu

A fourth dairy worker in the U.S. has been infected with bird flu. Health officials said Wednesday that the worker in Colorado had an eye infection and has since recovered. The man worked on a farm in Colorado and had direct contact with infected cows.

Three previous cases of human infection linked to cows were reported in dairy workers in Texas and Michigan this year.

As of Wednesday, the Agriculture Department says more than 135 dairy herds in a dozen states had reported infections with bird flu that originated in poultry.

Northern California wildfire spreads, thousands evacuate

OROVILLE, Calif. | Firefighters lined roads to keep flames from reaching homes as helicopters dropped water on a growing wildfire Wednesday in Northern California that has forced at least 13,000 people to evacuate, with another day of extreme heat expected.

The Thompson fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles north of Sacramento, in and around the city of Oroville, in Butte County. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to nearly 4.7 square miles by Wednesday morning. It was zero percent contained.

A state of emergency was declared Tuesday night by the city of about 20,000 people, and evacuation centers were set up. With July Fourth in mind, authorities also warned that fireworks are banned in many places, including most of Butte County.

There was no immediate official report on property losses. An Associated Press photographer saw fire burn three adjacent suburban-style homes in Oroville.