The Chimney Fire burning in San Luis Obispo County south of Lake Nacimiento is now 15,439 acres and 35 percent contained.
Advertisement
Firefighters have doused trees surrounding the castle, once the home of media mogul William Randolph Hearst, with fire retardant in the hopes of keeping the blaze at bay.
CAL FIRE says the fire burned over Rocky Butte Ridge overnight.
As CBS 5 reports, flames came as close as three miles from the mansion on Saturday, “prompting California State Parks officials to cancel tours and close the grounds to visitors”. The Chimney fire has destroyed 48 structures since it broke out August 14, and the blaze is just 35% contained.
A wind-driven wildfire in central California led to more evacuations and the closure of the Hearst Castle on Saturday. She said the state agency has a fire management plan and emergency plan in place to protect the landmark.
More residents are returning as crews make significant gains against a Southern California wildfire that officials now say has destroyed more than 100 homes.
This week, almost 30 major wildfires have burned about 850 square kilometers in eight western USA states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
No deaths have been reported but at last 96 homes were destroyed, Cal Fire said.
The Chimney Fire has been burning since August 13, growing to around 19,900 acres on Sunday – up from around 15,400 acres earlier in the day – and the blaze was 35 percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Fire spokesman Brad Pitassi said early Saturday that the blaze in mountain areas of San Bernardino County is 68 percent contained.
At its height, the blaze forced authorities to order more than 80,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Residents of 7,000 other homes in the Cajon Pass area were still potentially in the path of the fire, which is burning in heavy brush, and they remained under evacuation orders, Lopez said.
Advertisement
More damage might be discovered as firefighters pore through the aftermath of the fire that has burned 58 square miles about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
