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Blue Cut Fire fully contained, acreage drops slightly

The mass evacuation orders instituted last week, which affected more than 82,000 people, have been lifted across the fire area.

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The blaze has charred 37,020 acres – about 57 square miles – since it was sparked Tuesday about five miles north of Lytle Creek in Cajon Pass.

The evacuations affect 2,448 people, according to Cal Fire.

Inslee issued the declaration Tuesday after touring fire scenes in the Spokane region, where evacuations were called and more than a dozen homes have burned. It was 20 percent contained.

Travelers coming from the south can still access Yellowstone through Idaho and the park’s West Entrance.

The historic 165-room estate will remain closed and tours were canceled through Sunday because of the fire, California State Parks said in a statement.

The blaze in mountain areas is 68 percent contained.

“It’s hard to get crews in there to march up and down the hills to cut fire lines”. “Eventually, it will run out of things to burn and we’ll get the fire out”. Thirty horses also have been evacuated.

“Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, we have determined that it was not intentionally set”, Cal Fire officials said. The fire was less than three miles from Madison Junction, an area that includes a campground, visitor facilities and staff housing.

A fast-moving rangeland wildfire in eastern Idaho expanded to almost 70 square miles Wednesday, forcing evacuations, threatening a windfarm and burning habitat needed by sage grouse.

The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office says evacuations are in place with up to 70 buildings along U.S. Highway 26 threatened. John Miller said officials have received numerous tips, but he didn’t know if any of them were useful.

In central Idaho, a 160-square-mile wildfire in a remote, mountainous area continues to defy containment and burn through timbered slopes that are hard for firefighters to reach.

“Minimal fire behavior was observed yesterday which allowed the completion of the containment lines”, said a press release.

A stubborn and destructive wildfire on California’s central coast continues to grow as crews struggle to increase containment.

The historic Hearst Castle, a major tourist attraction on California’s central coast, will be closed to the public through the week as a safety precaution due to the blaze.

The 23,546-acre Rey fire burning in Santa Barbara County was 20% contained Monday. Officials say they are increasingly confident it will be spared.

Having so many people stay behind when asked to leave does ratchet up the risk to firefighters and residents, but on this fire, at least, no ill effects resulted, said Rocky Opliger, incident commander heading up the Southern California Interagency Incident Command Team 4.

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On the western side of the fire, closer to the ocean, there was high humidity on Monday, which held the moisture in the air and trapped the smoke, making visibility so bad that it grounded firefighting aircraft, Spelman said.

Some Blue Cut Fire Evacuees Allowed to Return Home