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This Hour: Latest California news, sports, business and entertainment

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CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

Wildfire near Yosemite destroys home, buildings

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) - A wildfire south of Yosemite National Park has destroyed a home and several other structures.

State fire officials in Madera County say the fire at Yosemite Lakes Park broke out shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday and quickly grew to 91 acres, burning one home and threatening 40 other homes and buildings.

Firefighters helped by four water-dropping aircraft had the blaze 60% contained about five hours after it broke out.

In Southern California, crews continue building containment lines around a wildfire hills and mountains around Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles.

State fire officials say the blaze near Frazier Park along the border of Kern and Ventura counties is 80% contained Sunday after consuming nearly seven square miles. It briefly threatened homes and a school after breaking out Friday.

BAY AREA BRUSH FIRE

N. Calif. woman suspected of sparking wildfire

MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) - Police say they have arrested a woman they say took a lighter to a hillside in the San Francisco Bay Area and sparked a brush fire.

Contra Costa County fire officials say the four-acre blaze broke out shortly after 5 p.m. and came close to homes, but firefighters stopped it after about 90 minutes before it did any damage.

Martinez police Lt. Aaron Roth tells the Contra Costa Times that investigators found 48-year-old Julie Tenpenny near the spot where the fire started and arrested her on suspicion of arson.

Roth says Tenpenny was suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol and struggled when police tried to arrest her, injuring an officer's leg.

The officer was taken to a hospital. Tenpenny was also hospitalized as a precaution.

BODY ABANDONED IN CAR

Driver ditches car on LA freeway as passenger dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police say two women were driving on 1 of Southern California's busiest freeways when 1 of them died and the other abandoned the car with her body still in it.

Los Angeles police Lt. Steven Harer tells KCAL-TV the driver, a woman in her 40s, panicked after her passenger, a woman in her 60s, died of an apparent overdose Sunday afternoon.

The driver left the car with a body inside sitting on Interstate 405 in the San Fernando Valley, an always-busy freeway that was badly backed up for hours during the death investigation.

Harer says the driver was extremely upset and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Neither woman's name has been released.

IMMIGRATION-TEXAS BORDER

Cartel towns pose challenge for immigration reform

MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) - As Congress takes up immigration reform, lawmakers seeking tighter border security may have to confront the reality of places such as Matamoros, Mexico, and other border towns controlled by drug cartels.

People in those communities say the current system of immigration enforcement and deportation produces a constant flow of migrants moving north and south that provides the cartel with a vulnerable labor pool and steady source of revenue.

The Rev. Francisco Gallardo oversees immigrant-assistance efforts for the Matamoros Catholic diocese. He says the "vicious circle" favors organized crime because migrants are going to pay for safe passage across the border.

If Congress sends more resources to the border, the government will also need to account for shifting patterns in immigrant arrests.

GAS PRICES

US gas prices up 11 cents over past 2 weeks

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks.

The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular is $3.66. Midgrade costs an average of $3.84 a gallon, and premium is $3.98.

Diesel held steady at $3.93 gallon.

Of the cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states, Tucson, Ariz., has the nation's lowest average price for gas at $3.18. Minneapolis has the highest at $4.27.

In California, the lowest average price was $3.94 in Fresno. The highest was in San Francisco at $4.07. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $4.03, up 18 cents.

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