Scorched cars and trailers burned by the Blue Cut fire line a residential street in Phelan, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. The wildfire unleashed its initial fury on a semi-rural landscape dotted with small ranches and homes in Cajon Pass and on the edge of the Mojave Desert before climbing the mountains.
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Firefighters overnight made more progress containing a wildfire burning two hours north of San Francisco.
At its height, the wildfire threatened more than 34,000 homes, and more than 82,000 residents were told to evacuate.
The news came as firefighters were taking the offensive to expand significant gains in corralling the fire.
A growing wildfire in central California has forced the closure of the historic Hearst Castle.
It was another successful night in the battle against a massive wildfire in Southern California that has destroyed at least 96 homes.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the blaze that has burned 58 square miles is now 68 percent contained, and firefighters are transitioning to mop-up phase.
“The fire burned so intensely that there’s no fuels left for it to move again”, Pitassi said.
The blaze covering almost 58 square miles was 26 per cent contained by early Friday, and plans were in the works to begin demobilizing some of the almost 1,600 firefighters by afternoon.
Juarez said that the diner is insured, and she plans to rebuild the landmark with all the attendant memorabilia. “Once it’s cool enough, we go parcel-by-parcel”.
“Officials estimate that about 7,000 people remain under evacuation orders, mostly around the areas of Wrightwood and Lytle Creek”. Many residents have been allowed to return home, but fire officials could not say when all the evacuations would be lifted. On top of that, more people are moving into fire-prone regions, complicating firefighting efforts. The goal is to compile the data even before the fire is fully extinguished and make them available online, via phone recordings and on postings at evacuation centers. “Any other color and you should be concerned”. She said the state agency has a fire management plan and emergency plan in place to protect the landmark.
A group of animal rescue volunteers found the house in smoldering ruins – with no signs of the pets. “It’s like a nightmare”.
A prolonged drought has transformed swaths of California into tinderboxes, ready to ignite.
The blaze is 26 percent contained Friday morning, up from 22 percent, and open flame is confined to pockets of the fire, which has scorched more than 50 square miles.
A popular tourist attraction along the Central Coast, the castle houses a large art collection belonging to media magnate William Randolph Hearst.
The blaze was 40 percent contained by the end of Friday and many evacuees were allowed to return to their homes in the city of Phelan, officials said.
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No deaths have been reported in the fire east of Los Angeles and the cause of the fire is under investigation. “We don’t release anything until it’s triple checked”, he said.
