Photo: Getty Images
Firefighters have gained control of a wildfire that broke out near Big Sur on Friday night (January 21).
According to NBC News, the Colorado fire prompted evacuation orders for about 500 people and crossed the Pacific Coast Highway.
The fire approached the famous Bixby Creek Bridge but did not do any damage.
By Sunday night, the fire was 35% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Cecile Juliette, a Cal Fire spokesperson, an occupied yurt was destroyed by the fire.
“The fire behavior was moderate and made wind-driven runs late Saturday night and into Sunday morning,” said Cal Fire.
Juliette also added that these types of fires are atypical for this time of year. The Colorado Fire scorched an area that went more than a decade without a January fire across over 100 acres.
California has had active wildfire seasons for a while now, but it's only gotten worse in recent years due to climate change and an ongoing drought.
“We’ve had several fires across northern California in the last few years that have been different than the fires from 10 or 15 years ago,” said Juliette. “They’ve been much bigger, (with) much more energy, much hotter and spread much more quickly. So this is the new California."