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Cal Fire announced Monday afternoon that all road closures in Fresno and Monterey counties for the Mineral Fire have been lifted.
All Evacuations & Road Closures for the #MineralFire Have Been Lifted@FresnoCoFire Firefighters & equipment will continue working along the roadsides, please proceed with caution while driving through the area.https://t.co/QsQIogtNvt pic.twitter.com/TR2kjafpty
— Fresno Co Sheriff (@FresnoSheriff) July 20, 2020
Firefighters battling the vegetation fire west of Coalinga have increased containment, but the fire grew larger over the weekend, authorities said.
The eight-day-old Mineral Fire now covers more than 28,000 acres and was 49% contained as of 7:05 a.m. Monday morning.
Four structures have been destroyed, three structures have been damaged, and 60 are threatened. No injuries have been reported.
The challenge in containing the fire is gaining access to it in some areas.
Always Ready, Always There!
California Air National Guardsmen from the @129RQW, Moffett Air National Guard Base, Mountain View, Calif., get ready to fly out in support of medevac operations to the Mineral Fire west of Coalinga, Calif., July 15, 2020. #NationalGuard #CalGuard pic.twitter.com/lPldJVP6Qq
— The California National Guard (@CalGuard) July 17, 2020
23 Crews Fighting the Wildfire
Cal Fire reports 1,564 personnel and 23 crews will battle the vegetation blaze on Monday.
Low humidity and hot temperatures have raised fire danger in large portions of the state.
Firefighters Surround Fire West of Panoche
In neighboring San Benito County, crews have nearly surrounded a rural fire west of Panoche that burned more than 2 square miles of dry brush and timber.
To the south in Los Angeles, crews protected homes from a brush fire that burned near properties in the Van Nuys neighborhood on Saturday.