10:30 a.m.
A 20-day-old wildfire near California’s Big Sur coast has grown to more than 107 square miles, but authorities say fire activity has been minimal and it remains 50 percent contained Wednesday.
Fifty-seven homes have been destroyed, and a bulldozer operator was killed in an accident while working on the fire.
Thousands of firefighters remain on the lines of the fire, which is not expected to be fully contained until the end of the month.
Five state parks that are part of the scenic region’s summer tourism draw remain closed.
The fire was sparked by an illegal campfire.
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9:35 a.m.
Firefighters have made major progress against a forest fire burning in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains.
The U.S. Forest Service says the 12-square-mile blaze is 64 percent contained Wednesday and is expected to be fully surrounded by Sunday.
The fire still remains a threat to 5,300 homes between Lake Arrowhead and the high desert city of Hesperia to the north.
More than 1,700 firefighters are on the lines.
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7:40 a.m.
A fire burning in steep terrain in central California is growing and has now scorched nearly 8 square miles.
The fire is burning about 8 miles west of the small town of Coalinga in Fresno County. A 21-mile stretch of Highway 198 is closed in both directions to the Monterey County line.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the fire that broke out Monday night is about 10 percent contained.
No one has been injured and no structures are threatened. More than 1,000 firefighters are working to get a handle on the fast-moving blaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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This story has been corrected to show that more than 1,000 firefighters, not fire crews, are working on the central California wildfire.
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6:30 a.m.
A wildfire burning in Southern California’s rugged San Bernardino Mountains has grown to more than 12 square miles, but it hasn’t reached any of the homes it has been threatening.
Prospects for late Tuesday into Wednesday looked good for firefighters who had the blaze just 6 percent contained, with temperatures dipping into the low 60s and humidity rising.
Mandatory and voluntary evacuations covered 5,300 homes in the Southern California fire area between mountain communities around Lake Arrowhead and the high desert city of Hesperia to the north, said Lyn Sieliet, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman. The number of people who left was not known.
Meanwhile, California’s biggest wildfire expanded to more than 104 square miles north of scenic Big Sur.
[Source:- ABC news]
