More than 4,000 vehicles a day, on average, pass through the south Entrance this time of year.
Advertisement
The Chimney Fire burning in San Luis Obispo County grew almost 4,000 acres overnight as firefighters braced for wind gusts Tuesday that could fan the flames into an unmanageable blaze.
Crews have fully surrounded a massive Southern California wildfire that burned for a week and destroyed 105 homes and 216 outbuildings.
Investigators, who are expected to provide an update later Tuesday, have not determined the cause of the fire. Already the fire has burned down 36 homes and 16 other structures, four of which (two homes and two outbuildings) were destroyed in just the past 24 hours.
A major wildfire is threatening nearly 2,000 structures in central California’s San Luis Obispo County.
Tens of thousands of firefighters are battling raging wildfires in the U.S. state of California, with fire departments across the state complaining of short-handedness amid an emergency crisis alert.
Just north of Big Sur, California’s largest fire grew held steady at 135 square miles in rugged wilderness coast along Highway 1. The fire was less than three miles from Madison Junction, an area that includes a campground, visitor facilities and staff housing. But humidity will remain low and temperatures high in the north and east, which will make conditions more challenging, she said. A growing wildfire in central California has forced the closure of the historic Hearst Castle.
The main fire grew by about 7 square miles on Monday and has now burned about 10 square miles since it was started by lightning last month.
The fire was 35 percent contained after destroying 34 homes and 14 other buildings.
California has seen some big fires this year, and the second-largest USA fire is now the Soberanes, just north of Big Sur.
Meanwhile, a 58-square-mile fire that destroyed 105 homes in Southern California was nearly entirely contained and all evacuation orders were lifted.
More than 10,000 firefighters battled wildfires Monday from California’s Central Coast to Sierra Nevada forests or mopped up remnants of destructive blazes beaten into submission up and down the state.
The castle at San Simeon was one of nearly 1,900 structures threatened by the 33,173-acre Chimney Fire, which ignited August 13 and destroyed 52 homes and other buildings.
The fire jumped the Spokane River and threatened the small community of Wellpinit on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Greiser stressed that all evacuation orders remain in order to prevent injury to residents and firefighters that may have to take action as the fire progresses.
In Washington state, a cluster of wildfires ringed the city of Spokane, destroying more than a dozen homes and forcing hundreds to flee.
That’s about the same amount of acres now on fire in all the U.S, all of which are burning in eight western states.
Night-flight helicopters will be used through the night to protect communities near the blaze, fire officials said.
The largest fire in Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming grew to about 35 square miles amid windy, warm weather, but tourists could still visit the popular park during the busy summer season. A separate fire has burned at least 37 square miles in the mountains above Santa Barbara.
The Sanders County Sheriff’s Office told people to leave their homes outside the small town of Thompson Falls.
“Colligan said Monday that although the castle did not appear to be under immediate threat by the fire, crews were well aware that winds can change quickly”, The Times reported.
Some 20 homes and other buildings were threatened, and other residents were told that the evacuation area may spread.
In addition, Washington, Wyoming, Montana and OR each had their hands full with large active wildfires.
Bureau of Land Management spokesman Larry Moore says the wildfire is burning two miles east of the Owyhee Reservoir, and it’s threatening Succor Creek State Park. Forecasters were expecting afternoon wind gusts of 25 miles per hour.
Advertisement
“When the weather and winds die down a bit, we can use that to our advantage”, said Cal Fire spokesman Rich Brocchini, adding the fire remained volatile, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
