Firefighters gain ground on 2 big California blazes but a 3rd gains strength

Fire crews made significant progress Wednesday in containing the Pilot Fire in California’s San Bernardino Mountains. It’s one of three major fires currently burning in the state. (Mark Boster, LA Times via Getty Images)
Fire crews in California were battling three major wildfires, gaining ground on two of them but hampered by steep terrain while fighting a third blaze.
In central California, the Mineral Fire saw “extreme fire behavior” overnight, burning 5,000 acres off