As officials ask for the public’s help in finding the people who started an illegal campfire that grew into a massive wildfire north of Big Sur, authorities are considering what penalties the campers could face once they are found. Fire officials said Tuesday that they had identified the origin of The Soberanes Fire: a 2-foot diameter campfire lit in a scenic spot just off the Soberanes Canyon Trail on July 22. The wildfire burning west of Crater Lake National Park has grown to more than 400 acres as of Tuesday, and the park remains open, but fire officials say West Rim Drive could be intermittently closed over the next couple of days. Thus far, at least 57 homes and 11 outbuildings have been destroyed and a bulldozer operator assigned to work the fire line has been killed.
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KCFD says it appears the cause of the fire was from parking in an area with hot material, which set the rear tires on the driver’s side on fire. In the time, officials estimate, it could burn up to 165,000 acres.
More than 300 wildfires burned throughout the state last week, aided by low humidity and a summer heat wave, according to Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. As many as 510 fire engines, 51 water tankers, 72 bulldozers, 17 helicopters, six air tankers, and more than 5,400 firefighters have been deployed to battle and contain the fire.
The fire has destroyed a $60,000 state-operated backcountry yurt, a round, tent-like structure with a dome roof and plastic skin.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office says the fire is still burning but not making a run as it did earlier in the day with high winds just north of Moses Lake. Several more are threatened.
Crews battling a deadly wildfire burning well into its second week near California’s Big Sur coast have carved buffer lines around a quarter of its perimeter, steering flames more deeply into the forest and away from populated areas, officials said on Wednesday.
Incident commanders predict humidity in the single-digits Tuesday in the Virginia Mountains, with wind gusts up to 45 miles an hour.
It had burned almost 5.5 square miles by Monday night.
“Our main concern is public safety”, said Eric Abma, a California State Parks sector superintendent.
Residents in some rural areas have been told to prepare to evacuate quickly if necessary.
A wildfire in a popular recreational area in Northern California grew overnight to more than 3 square miles.
Just north of Los Angeles, a 65-square-mile wildfire in wilderness just north of Los Angeles was nearly fully contained and only active with isolated pockets of vegetation burning within a fire lines. It also has burned two other buildings.
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Dave Ulibarri with Salt Lake County’s Unified Fire Authority said Wednesday people from 39 homes have been allowed back home and the fire is now about 50 percent contained.
