California firefighters gain ground against big wildfires after hot and windy weekend

The fire broke out as weather turned hot and windy in a region where grasses spawned by a rainy winter have long since dried out and easily burn.

The massive columns of smoke that marked the fire’s initial rampage were gone by Monday morning. But Sunday’s smoke drifted some 225 miles northwest across the Mojave Desert to cast a slight haze in the Las Vegas area. Nevada air quality officials issued an alert advising children, older adults, and people with respiratory and heart disease to stay indoors.

In Northern California, a wildfire sparked Sunday prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a sparsely populated area near Lake Sonoma. Known as the Point Fire, it was 20% surrounded Monday after charring nearly 2 square miles about 80 miles north of San Francisco, and destroyed at least one structure.

Ben Nicholls, division chief of the Cal Fire district in area covering the Point fire, said Monday morning that fire activity subsided overnight.

“Forecasted winds are supposed to be less than we experienced yesterday, which should allow the resources assigned for this operational period to build and strengthen the control lines that were put in place yesterday,” Nicholls said in a video briefing.

The Southern California fire erupted Saturday afternoon near I-5 in Gorman, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Two structures burned within the evacuated recreation area.

To the south, popular Pyramid Lake was closed as a precaution on Father’s Day. Officials also warned residents of Castaic, home to about 19,000 people, that they should prepare to leave if the fire pushed farther south.

“If you’re in a warning area, be prepared with a ‘go bag,’ with overnight clothes and your cellphone, your medicines, your glasses. Have your car fueled up,” said Haskett. “Be ready to evacuate.”