Progress made on wildfire burning near California gold mining town
Weaker winds and cooler temperatures allowed firefighters to make significant progress on a large wildfire sparked by an unhitched boat trailer near one of California’s historic Gold Rush-era towns.
In addition to strengthening their containment line on Monday, firefighters adjusted the size of the blaze down from 650 acres to 580, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The blaze, dubbed the Oregon fire, was 45% contained, and all mandatory evacuations near the historic gold-mining town of Weaverville were lifted.
The fire started about 4:36 p.m. Sunday off Highway 299 at Oregon Mountain Summit near Weaverville after a boat trailer became unhitched and sparked the blaze, according to CalFire spokeswoman Cheryl Buliavac.
The fire was initially fueled by strong winds as it burned along extremely steep terrain.
At least one firefighter suffered a minor heat-related injury and was treated at the scene and released, Buliavac said.
The blaze also destroyed a large barn.
For breaking news in Los Angeles and throughout California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.
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