OROVILLE, Calif. - A Northern California man learned his home is still standing when he returned from evacuating from a wildfire zone.

  

Chuck Wilsey told The Associated Press on Monday that he's relieved, but cautious, and is already planning for the next evacuation should it come. Wilsey says he's keeping his trailer attached to his truck and telling his daughters to gather prized possessions they couldn't get the first time around.

  

Others were not as lucky. One home was gone except for its chimney. Another was nearly destroyed, with gnarled appliances and a burned-out car the main remnants.

  

Wilsey was among thousands who had evacuated from a wildfire near Oroville. The blaze has destroyed at least 17 structures, but authorities could not say how many of those were homes.

  

The fire has burned 9 square miles.

  

Further south, at least 3,500 people remain evacuated as two fires raged at separate ends of Santa Barbara County.

  

Firefighters are battling blazes across the U.S. West and in Canada.