Hundreds of residents remained evacuated Sunday as crews battled a wildfire in rugged mountains along the California coast that forced the closure of the main roadway near Big Sur.
One structure, a yurt, was destroyed by the blaze that broke out Friday in a steep canyon and quickly spread toward the sea, fanned by gusts up to 50 mph.
The flames made a big run after winds whipped up again late Saturday, but since then conditions have calmed and crews made some progress against the blaze, said Cecile Juliette, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“The winds today have been favorable, so that’s some good news,” Juliette said Sunday.
The blaze dubbed the Colorado Fire was 25% contained after burning at least 1.6 square miles (4.1 square km) of brush and redwood trees, Juliette said.
Evacuation orders were in place for about 500 residents of a sparsely populated area between Carmel and Big Sur.