Carmel Valley, CA Wildfires raging in Central California have prompted a series of evacuation warnings this past weekend, including a pre-evacuation warning issued Sunday for Rancho San Carlos, White Rock and San Rancho Clemente due to the Soberanes Fire. Cal Fire officials said they were hoping for “good, clean air”, so ground crews battling the flames amid the dry and rugged terrain could get a break. The remains of a vehicle that burned with the Soberanes Fire in Palo Colorado Canyon on the northern Big Sur Coast on Tuesday July 26, 2016 in Big Sur, Calif. California’s signature parks along the Big Sur c.
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Some 3,500 firefighters battling the blaze may get a reprieve from the hot, blustery weather on Thursday when temperatures are forecast to ease to the upper 70s (25-26 degrees Centigrade) with light winds.
The blaze is 10 percent contained.
Rescuers plucked a group of hikers who found themselves near the fire area.
A group of eight men were rescued by the Monterey County Sheriff’s search and rescue team after they were spotted by another bulldoze operator Tuesday.
The search and rescue team evacuated the men to a campground.
No one was seriously injured.
CAL FIRE reports a bulldozer operator was killed overnight, while on the fire line in Monterey County. Details of how the accident happened were also not immediately available.
A call-when-needed bulldozer operator has died after suffering fatal injuries while working overnight to combat the fire, Cal Fire officials say.
Fuel tankers rolled into the parking lot of Golden Valley High so hundreds of fire trucks could quickly gas up and barrel back down vacant streets in Santa Clarita, where officials had ordered the evacuation of 20,000 residents.
Another operator escaped injury when a second bulldozer rolled over and sustained minor damage, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Once they walked down they were were given food and water at a Boy Scouts camp.
When the fire broke out, the men became stranded and didn’t know which direction would lead them to safety, the station reported. Now there are 3,079 personnel, 296 engines, 19 water tenders, 14 helicopters, six air tankers, 59 hand crews, and 60 bulldozers battling the blaze. The fire was 40% contained as of Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
More than 300 people have been evacuated and several roads closed in the area, Cal Fire reported Wednesday morning.
The fire erupted Friday afternoon in Santa Clarita, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Also, one person was killed and 18 homes have been destroyed.
“Please keep your heartfelt thoughts and prayers with the family”, Cal Fire incident commander Todd Derum said.
The death occurred as firefighters worked around the clock against the blaze near a scenic stretch of the California coast, where smoke and the threat of flames forced the closure of state parks near Big Sur, a popular tourist area.
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The declaration was made not long after most of the 20,000 evacuees were allowed to return to their homes just north of Los Angeles Monday night, according to KABC-TV.
