A wildfire in central California destroyed at least three houses and forced hundreds of people to leave their homes on Monday despite progress in containing the blaze.
The Shirley fire has threatened more than 500 homes, burning 2,600 acres of land, according to an incident report set up to track the fire. By Monday night, the wildfire was 50 percent contained as firefighters raced to get the upper hand before hotter, drier weather approaches later this week.
The blaze is burning in and around the Sequoia National Forest, coming as close as a mile to a community about 30 miles northeast of Bakersfield.
Of the three homes damaged by the fire, at least two of the burned houses appeared to be abandoned, the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement.
On Monday, firefighters succeeded in digging a fire line almost all the way around the blaze and were burning vegetation in the fire's path.
"It's running out of fuel basically, and it is burning downhill, so the fuel load is lighter as it goes downhill to brush and grasses rather than conifers," said fire spokeswoman Cheryl Chipman. She said lighter winds were also expected in coming days.
"We are optimistic and expecting a good report from the crews," Chipman said.
Flames that were being pushed by gusty winds from the west came within a mile of the mountain community of Wofford Heights, and authorities called on residents of about 1,000 threatened homes to evacuate. Dozens of people stayed at a Red Cross shelter overnight, and residents of 500 homes were under mandatory evacuation.
The blaze broke out Friday night in remote area northwest of the lake and exploded late Saturday as dry winds pushed the flames toward homes, prompting Kern County Sheriff's deputies to knock on doors into the night to urge residents to leave.
website: http://www.weather.com/news/fire-kern-county-california-20140615
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