The fire command says the huge blaze in northern Los Angeles County is now 40 percent surrounded.
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The so-called Sand Fire in Santa Clarita has scorched almost 60 square miles since it started on Friday, July 22.
The Wyoming fire in a remote region burned almost 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) and forced the evacuations of 900 people but no homes had burned by Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Osby said crews are still seeing “erratic fire behavior” and winds, but he said the vegetation fueling the fire was lighter as the blaze moved toward the Agua Dulce area, making it easier for crews to work with hand tools in the area and extend containment lines.
The fire has destroyed 18 homes, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the flames, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby.
See the NBCLA report here.
The wildfire grew slightly overnight to almost 60 square miles.
About 300 miles to the north, a smaller fire raging since Friday between Big Sur and the scenic coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea continued to threaten some 1,650 properties after destroying 20 homes on Sunday.
Meanwhile in Wyoming, a large backcountry wildfire in the Shoshone National Forest put about 290 homes and guest ranches at risk. They warned, however, that the fire was still extremely unsafe and would take time to put out.
“We’re expecting to have a lot of smoldering today”, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Justin Correll.
There are almost 3,000 firefighters involved in combating the massive blaze, working in grueling temperatures in the low 100s.
Some neighborhoods in Santa Clarita, population about 200,000, remained off limits Tuesday because of the fire.
(AP Photo/Nick Ut). Lane Leavitt, who trains stunt actors and specializes in setting people on fire for movies and television, poses Tuesday, July 26, 2016, in his home that escaped damage when the Sand fire swept through Santa Clarita, Calif. over the.
At least 20,000 persons were evacuated as the fires raged, most orders were lifted at 7 p.m. on Monday, but the orders still remain in effect at some places.
Without that effort, he said, the fire probably would have consumed six tall pine trees that could have exploded and sent flaming embers onto his house, with wind carrying them to hundreds of others nearby.
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According to the California Highway Patrol, some law enforcement personnel standing guard at closed streets were almost run over by people driving carelessly as they tried to get back to their homes.
