Visitors are flocking to Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada to take in a rare phenomenon known as a superbloom. Thousands of long-dormant flowers have popped through the desert soil, transforming the barren landscape in carpets of gold. The bloom is a result of steady rain in the fall and winter, and experts don't expect the blooms to last long. Ecologists say the superbloom, though not a real scientific term, proves that there is life in the desert, even in a place known for death.

Hundreds of Europeans touring the American West and adventurers from around the U.S. are still being drawn to Death Valley National Park, even though the desolate region known as one of the Earth's hottest places is being punished by a dangerous heat wave blamed for a motorcyclist's death over the weekend. Much of the country is sweltering in heat wave that has seen dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tie or break previous heat records. Record daily high temperatures in Oregon are suspected in four deaths reported in the Portland area.

Firefighters have made progress against a California wildfire that triggered extensive evacuation orders, but damage assessments have raised the number of destroyed structures to 25 and forecasters say heat and fire risk are expanding on the West Coast. Containment of the Thompson Fire near the Butte County city of Oroville rose Friday to 46%. The fire grew little overnight and remains at just under 6 square miles. Most evacuation orders were lifted Thursday. A new blaze dubbed the French Fire erupted Thursday evening and triggered evacuations in the small town of Mariposa along a highway leading to Yosemite National Park. But winds calmed and crews were able to build a containment line along the entire eastern side of the community.