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TheAssociatedPress FRESNO Aweeks-oldwild- fire that has now burned across 60 square miles was bearing down Friday on a popular recreational lake near Kings Canyon Na- tional Park in California, officials said. The fire was moving to- ward Hume Lake so quickly that the incident command post was moved Thursday night from the lake to the ranger station in Sequoia National Forest. The fire was just 3 per- cent contained. The blaze led to the evac- uation of more than 2,500 campers, hikers, employ- ees and residents earlier in the week. Most of the Hume Lake Christian Camp has been evacuated as the fire moved closer. "We're at the very brink (of the fire) as I understand it," John Yakligian, a camp board member told KNTV. Flames have run through grass on steep hillsides and ridges keeping more than 1,600 firefighters busy tackling the fire that was sparked by lightning July 31 in Fresno County. On the northwest edge of the flames, crews were working to protect Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equip- ment in the Balch camp area. On Thursday, evacua- tion warnings were issued to residents about 40 miles east of Fresno in the com- munities of Crabtree, Samp- son Flat, Davis Flat and Clo- ver Meadows. More than 12,000 fire- fighters are battling 17 wild- fires across California. Temperatures for the weekend are expected to be cooler statewide. How- ever, warm, dry conditions will keep the fire threat el- evated across foothills and mountains. A wildfire on the eastern outskirts of the San Fran- cisco Bay Area scorched nearly 4 square miles of dry brush near Livermore after burning down at least one unoccupied home in the ru- ral area the day before. Evacuations have been ordered in the rural area as the fire moves toward Tracy. It was two-thirds contained. KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK NorthernCaliforniafire bears down on popular lake JEFFCHIU—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Fires burn on a hill in Livermore on Thursday. Wildfires rampaged across the drought- choked West on Thursday as authorities scrambled for resources to beat back the flames. By Brian Melley The Associated Press LOS ANGELES An anti- abortion group has a free speech right to release co- vert video of discussions with a California com- pany that provides fetal tissue for research, even if the footage was illegally recorded, a judge ruled Friday. Los Angeles Supe- rior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell rejected efforts by StemExpress to block the videos, though she said the company likely will prevail in its lawsuit claiming its privacy was violated by an anti-abor- tion activist posing as a biomedical company em- ployee. W hile the ruling cleared the way for the release of yet another video by the little-known Center for Medical Prog- ress, it was not clear how soon it might post it on- line. StemExpress said it disagreed with the rul- ing and was considering an appeal. The Irvine-based anti- abortion group reignited the abortion debate after releasing undercover vid- eos last month of Planned Parenthood officials dis- cussing aborted fetal or- gans it provides for re- search. Abortion opponents said the video showed Planned Parenthood was illegally harvesting and selling the organs. Planned Parenthood said it did nothing wrong and the videos were decep- tively edited to support ex- tremists' false claims. Fervent reaction to the videos prompted members of Congress to try to kill funding for Planned Par- enthood, which provides health services to women such as birth control, sex- ual disease screening and abortions. It has also led to calls for investigations of the center and of Planned Parenthood. Placerville-based Stem- Express, which got some of its fetal tissue from Planned Parenthood, was drawn into the contro- versy when its chief exec- utive and general counsel met in May at a Northern California restaurant with two representatives of the phony Biomax Procure- ment Services. It was a ruse orches- trated by the center's leader, David Daleiden, who posed as "Robert Sar- kis" to secretly record the conversation. When the first Planned Parenthood videos sur- faced this summer, Stem- Express Chief Executive Officer Catherine Dyer re- alized she'd been duped and her company sued to pre-emptively block that footage from being seen. FREE SPEECH CITED Anti-abortion group al lo we d to r el ea se v id eo By Julia Horowitz The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California's jobless rate dropped to 6.2 percent in July, a slight de- crease from a month earlier, as the state added 80,600 nonfarm payroll jobs, the state Employment Develop- ment Department reported Friday. The increase in jobs is an "astounding number," said Michael Bernick, a fellow at the Milken Institute and former director of the de- partment. Unemployment is now the lowest it has been since February 2008. Professional and busi- ness services spearheaded the growth, posting 22,300 jobs. No one factor contrib- uted to the magnitude of jobs added in July, Bernick said. California's economy has been steadily recover- ing since February 2010, and it has shown surpris- ing stability in the face of a harsh four-year drought. The numbers are based on federal and state sur- veys of employers and households, but they don't take into account people who have stopped look- ing for work or those who are working part-time but would rather be working full-time. Nearly 378,000 people claimed California unemployment benefits in July, up more than 15,000 in a month. In June, California's job- less rate was 6.3 percent, and a year ago it was 7.4 percent. California's unemploy- ment rate remains higher than the national average, which was 5.3 percent in June and July. Nine sectors grew in July, including construc- tion; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; fi- nancial activities; profes- sional and business ser- vices; educational and health services; and lei- sure and hospitality. Two sectors reported monthly declines: mining- logging and government. Government saw the larg- est loss, down 1,100 jobs. EMPLOYMENT GROWTH Ca li fo rn ia j ob le ss r at e dr op s to 6 .2 p er ce nt i n Ju ly AlfalfaHay FOR SALE •Excellant Quality •Fine Stemed •Great for horses goats and sheep South Red Bluff Call Scott 845-9276 $11.00 Bale JoinOur"HydrateOurHeroes"WaterDrive Let'sgetlocalareafirefightersthewatertheyneedforwhentheybattletheblaze. FromnowuntiltheendofSeptember,BrookdaleRedBluffwillbecollectingcasesofbottledwater from local businesses, veterans groups, civic organizations and not-for-profits in effort to keep local firefighters hydrated as they keep us safe. Drop off your water at 705 Luther Road, or call us at (530) 529-2900 for a pick-up. All participating partners will be officially thanked in The Red Bluff Daily News. Our firemen are our heroes. Let's be theirs during this very special drive. Donate today. For more information, call (530) 529-2900. 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