More than 4,000 vehicles a day normally pass through the south entrance this time of year.
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Several campgrounds and a lodge that rents cabins in the area were evacuated.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has added an emergency item to its agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, to ratify a Proclamation of Local Emergency made by the director of the county Office of Emergency Services on Saturday and to provide direction to county staff to waive fees for rebuilding as a result of the Chimney Fire.
Dillon said the residents were “very pleased” to know the Lytle Creek area was open and that those still under evacuation orders were being patient.
On Sunday, authorities lifted all evacuation orders and allowed crowed to return in their home, followed by explosive wildfire in Southern California.
Greiser urged those ordered to evacuate to leave their homes as soon as possible.
“We’re short-staffed, we’re stretched thin, we’re in these epidemic fire conditions”, said Patrick Walker, 40, a CalFire captain in San Diego County.
“By fighting these fires, we unfortunately enter what’s called the fire paradox, and that is the harder you try to suppress them, the worse they get when they do happen”, Finney said.
More than 2,100 firefighters continue to fight the Soberanes fire.
Inslee’s proclamation directs state agencies to do everything reasonably possible to assist local governments in responding and recovering from fires.
The proclamation covers Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Yakima, Walla Walla and Whitman counties.
A 2014 study by the state’s human resources department found state firefighters receive one-third less in pay and benefits, on average, than their counterparts at fire departments for 18 California cities and two counties surveyed.
The number of structures threatened by the continually-growing Chimney Fire grew substantially over the weekend from a few hundred to almost 1900.
The blaze has burnt nearly 34 homes and 43 square miles since it began August 13.
Wildfires in the Spokane area have burned more than a dozen homes and forced evacuations.
Utah firefighting crews are battling a small wildfire in northern Utah that is approaching a ski resort and a separate blaze in southern Utah burning through sage grouse habitat. He said the fire is within a mile of Alta Sierra (Kern County).
That fire has burned 43 square miles since it began August 13.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The fire has escalated to a top priority in the state, based on the number of threatened homes, which was listed at 200 on Monday.
Warm, windy weather has led the biggest wildfire in Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming to grow significantly.
Cooler temperatures, rising humidity and diminished winds were expected to help crews gain some ground on Monday, as firefighting reinforcements arrived in the area, said Jeff Sevigney, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.
Cal Fire reported that the fire was extreme and continued to challenge control lines Sunday overnight into Monday.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention said Sunday the 6-square-mile fire in Lower Lake is now 95 percent contained.
Sixty miles east of Los Angeles, minimal activity was seen at fire that burned nearly 58 square miles and 105 homes in Cajon Pass and the San Gabriel Mountains last week.
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At least six people have died in Western wildfires this summer. Some 20 homes and other buildings were threatened as 317 firefighters responded to the blaze. Cal Fire said the fire has destroyed 57 homes and charred 133 square miles. It remains 35 percent contained.
