A tiny desert community in Southern California has tied the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. The 108 degree day in North Shore, California, came amid a record-breaking winter heat wave in the Southwest that will stretch into the weekend and could produce even higher temperatures.

With spring still a week away, Southern California is seeing a burst of summerlike heat, and forecasters warn that it raises the risk of heat illness.

Firefighters in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles are making good progress in their battle against a brush fire that forced thousands of people to evacuate.