Evacuation orders are in place for Christmas Cove, Oak Shores, North Shore Boat and Ski, Laguna Vista, South Shore Village, Rancho Del Lago, Cal Shasta, Lake San Antonio, Sapaqua Valley and Bryson Hesperia in both San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties. Additional evacuation warnings were issued Wednesday.
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Hearst Castle, the palatial ocean-view estate popular among tourists, remained closed because of its proximity to the flames, but officials say they are increasingly confident it will be spared.
The Soberanes Fire started July 22 in Garrapata State Park north of Big Sur.
Ward says the fire near the town of Richfield is about 27 per cent contained and not threatening any homes.
Crews were battling a small wildfire in northern Utah that was approaching a ski resort and a separate blaze in southern Utah burning through sage grouse habitat.
Some 20 homes and other buildings were threatened, and other residents were told that the evacuation area may spread.
The fire northeast of Thompson Falls had burned 33 square miles as of Wednesday morning.
In central Idaho, a 400 sq/km wildfire in a remote, mountainous area continues to defy containment and burn through timbered slopes that are hard for firefighters to reach.
Officials in Las Vegas are blaming poor air quality and a smoky haze in southern Nevada on wildfires in coastal and mountain areas of California.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with California State park Supervising Ranger, Roger Colligan, who said so far neither smoke nor soot from the fire has damaged the castle. The advisory remains in effect through Thursday.
Favorable weather conditions helped crews make progress Wednesday against a series of wildfires in Eastern Washington that have burned at least 18 homes this week. But by constantly putting the fires out, more unburned brush is left to fuel the next one.
Evacuation orders for homes near Upper Grant Creek were lifted Tuesday afternoon but authorities asked non-residents to stay out of the area about 4 miles north of Interstate 90 to keep the roadways clear.
The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection syas the blaze in San Bernardino County mountain areas is 100 percent contained Tuesday after charring almost 57 square miles of drought-dry brush. In fact, while firefighters in California have battled massive, destructive blazes this summer, much of the West has benefited from a relatively calm fire season, fire officials say.
Dozens of wildfires raged in the arid U.S. West on Tuesday, blackening hundreds of square miles of land and forcing residents from homes in California and Washington state. Mandatory evacuations ended on that fire on Tuesday night.
In Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, a 35 square-mile wildfire did not keep visitors from enjoying the wildlife and scenery, even as it continued to expand in a remote area along the park’s western boundary, the Associated Press reported.
A fire in Grand Teton park made a 5-mile run Monday, forcing the closure of a 10-mile stretch of road that leads into Yellowstone’s South Entrance.
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Travelers coming from the south can still access Yellowstone through Idaho and the park’s West Entrance.
