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All wildfire evacuees allowed to return home

Scorched cars and trailers burned by the Blue Cut fire line a residential street in Phelan, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 19.

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This photo provided by California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shows smoke billowing from a wildfire near Lake Nacimiento in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

Containment on the blaze in San Bernardino County jumped from 22 percent to 40 percent on Friday. Most evacuees were allowed to return on Sunday.

Residents of 7,000 other homes in the Cajon Pass area were still potentially in the fire’s path and remained under evacuation orders, he said.

It was revealed, however, that 96 homes and 213 outbuildings were destroyed by the blaze, a lot of them in its first fierce days on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The family’s home and almost all their belongings were destroyed in the blaze.

Saturday, officials said at least 105 homes had been destroyed, along with more than 200 other structures.

The most successful day yet in fighting a massive and ferocious wildfire in Southern California also came with news of the blaze’s destruction.

Four dogs, six cats and a hamster left behind are missing.

A group of animal rescue volunteers found the house in smoldering ruins – with no signs of the pets.

Those numbers could rise as damage assessment teams pore through the aftermath of the blaze about 60 miles (97 kilometres) east of downtown Los Angeles, Fire Marshal Mike Horton of the San Bernardino County Fire Department said. An unknown number of homes were destroyed.

There’s a devastation in Southern California where the Blue Cut fire has destroyed around 100 homes and is 73% contained.

In mountains north of San Francisco, a 6-square-mile blaze was 80 per cent contained after destroying 300 structures, including 189 homes and eight businesses, in the working-class community of Lower Lake. Some of the neighbors’ homes were still standing, seemingly intact.

Meanwhile, some schools in the Konocti Unified School District will open Monday for the fall after the start date was delayed by the fire.

The cause of the fire has been deemed arson. Authorities have charged Damin Pashlik of Clearlake with starting the Clayton fire and 11 other fires in the area since July 2, 2015.

Firefighters have gained more ground as they work to surround the huge wildfire east of Los Angeles.

But with the fire 68 per cent contained, many residents were allowed to return home, Lopez said.

“Without a federal declaration, people who lost property in the fire will have to rely on insurance, fundraising, and whatever existing services for which they might be eligible”, county spokesman David Wert said via email Sunday.

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Pitassi cautions, however, that there remains potential for explosive fire behavior.

Scorched cars and trailers burned by the Blue Cut fire line a residential street in Phelan Calif