A firefighting helicopter gets water out of Isabella Lake near Wofford Heights before making another water drop on the several day old Cedar fire in the mountains Sunday.
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The Washington State Patrol says another wildfire, south of Spokane near the town of Spangle, destroyed at least 10 homes and numerous other buildings Sunday.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) – Authorities have lifted all evacuation orders affecting thousands of people, less than a week after a wildfire raged through mountainous terrain in Southern California and consumed hundreds of homes and other buildings.
Between January 1 and August 13, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported 3,874 fires that have burned 45,700 hectares and killed seven people, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Forty-eight structures have been destroyed and seven more damaged by the blaze, according to Cal Fire officials. A Damage Assessment Team working under the Blue Cut Fire Unified Command announced that a preliminary estimate of 105 single family residences and 216 outbuildings were destroyed by the Blue Cut Fire.
Almost 1,600 people in 13 small communities were under mandatory evacuations orders and evacuations were recommended for a half-dozen others, said fire spokesman Naaman Horn. It remained 35 percent contained.
Dillion said firefighters were going property-to-property to put out any lingering flames and hot spots.
Fire officials briefed residents at an evacuation centre on Sunday at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds where about 15 residents remained.
A prolonged drought has transformed swathes of California into tinderboxes, ready to ignite. It remained closed on Sunday.
This is to say nothing of the financial and emotional cost of replacing homes and property destroyed by fire.
“We come in right on the heels of the fire”, Horton said.
“Fire conditions will be assessed daily to determine when Hearst Castle reopens and tours commence”, the site read.
Firefighters are battling to bring some half-dozen active fires raging across California under control.
Chambers could not provide additional details on that plan.
A wildfire in central California that destroyed 47 structures and forced the closure of the famed Hearst Castle has chased more people from their homes. Temperatures were lower, in the low 70s, with more humidity near Hearst Castle.
In rural Santa Barbara County, a 15-square-mile wildfire forced the evacuation of two campsites.
In the southern Sierra Nevada, another blaze in Sequoia National Forest forced the evacuation of several tiny hamlets.
The Clayton Fire in the northern Clear Lake region – near the Sonoma and Napa wine regions-measures some 4,000 acres and is 95 percent contained.
A month-long blaze burning near California’s scenic Big Sur is not expected to be fully contained until the end of September.
At Lower Lake, 80 miles north of San Francisco, recovery efforts remained underway in the aftermath of hard-hit Lake County’s latest wildfire, which destroyed 189 homes since erupting August 13.
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Just 20 percent contained, the blaze has caused the closure of campgrounds and recreation areas but remains far from communities.
