Meanwhile, a 58-square-mile fire that destroyed 105 homes in Southern California is nearly entirely contained and all evacuation orders have been lifted.
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About 82,000 people were ordered to leave their properties when the fire broke out Tuesday, 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Many Lytle Creek residents had to leave their homes ever since the devastating fire erupted on August 16, and some of those people stayed at the evacuation center at the Jessie Turner Center in Fontana.
Pitassi says damage assessment teams have found 9 more burned homes, bringing the preliminary total to 105.
The Blue Cut Fire is now 89 percent contained, and all mandatory evacuation orders for the residents of the Cajon Pass have been lifted, officials said.
Fire crews have carved containment lines around 35 per cent of the fire’s perimetre, and the blaze is now burning mostly toward the northeast, away from the castle and populated areas, said Stacey Nolan, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Almost 1,900 structures were threatened by a almost 50-square-mile blaze in coastal San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties, where more than 2,400 people were under evacuation orders, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
“You don’t want somebody to come back to a neighbourhood where a fire could suddenly flare up on the property next door from something still smouldering”, Mr Dillon said.
A prolonged drought has transformed swaths of California into tinderboxes, ready to ignite. It remains closed through the week. By Thursday it was 30% contained and had burned 8,300 acres.
“Fire conditions will be assessed daily to determine when Hearst Castle reopens and tours commence”, the site read.
The Chimney Fire’s behavior remained active overnight, according to the latest Cal Fire incident update on Thursday morning.
The fire continued to move north Sunday and by that evening was moving east toward San Antonio Reservoir.
“Things are extremely positive”, said Pitassi, adding that officials expect more progress and more residents returning home throughout the weekend. It is now a museum that houses Hearst’s massive art collection.
5 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.
Evacuation warnings remain for Tassajara Road from Carmel Valley Road to the Tassajara Hot Springs Zen Center.
Hearst Castle staff had an evacuation plan but declined to provide specifics, citing security concerns. The Cal Fire supervisor was treated on-site by paramedics and then airlifted to a nearby hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
The roughly 3,000 people working to extinguish the blaze faced tough conditions Sunday, with temperatures in the mid-90s inland, low humidity and hard terrain with limited access.
Built between 1919 and 1947 (and never really completed), the ridiculously opulent Julia Morgan-designed estate cost Hearst the equivalent of more than $500 million in today’s dollars.
In rural Santa Barbara County, a 15-square-mile wildfire forced the evacuation of two campgrounds.
In the southern Sierra Nevada, another blaze in Sequoia National Forest forced the evacuation of several tiny hamlets.
More than 400 homes remained threatened by the fire, which was started July 22 by an illegal campfire and has destroyed 57 homes and 11 other buildings.
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Hot, dry and windy conditions have created a flawless storm for the spread of large wildfires in several western states, including a massive blaze in California that has destroyed 135-square miles of forest.
