Pond Fire acreage remains at 1,962 acres, now 95% contained
CRESTON, Calif. - CAL FIRE reported that the Pond Fire burning south of Creston and east of Santa Margarita has been remains at 1,962 acres and is now 95% contained.
This is a 7% increase in containment since the previous update Monday morning. Total containment is expected by Saturday, Aug. 8.
After a structural damage assessment on Monday, one structure was determined to have been destroyed by the fire along with 13 outbuildings. One structure was damaged and another 200 structures are still threatened.
Firefighters have reportedly increased their mop up operations around the perimeter of the fire and will be working to extinguish hot spots throughout the night.
All evacuation orders have been lifted.
Evacuation warnings are still in place for the areas along Huer Huero Road from Random Canyon Way south to Parkhill Road and Parkhill Road at Huer Huero Road east to Earthstar Place. All other evacuation warnings are now lifted.
An Evacuation Center has been set up at Santa Margarita Elementary School, 22070 H St. in Santa Margarita.
HEET of SLO County is assisting residents with large animal evacuations. Their staging and sheltering area is located at the Railhead Ranch Arena.
HEET can be contacted at 805-550-0213.
Huer Huero Road remains closed to traffic from Highway 58 to Random Canyon Way.
Information about Pond Fire evacuations and updates can be found at www.emergencyslo.org/en/evacuations.
The Pond Fire broke out Saturday evening around 4:33 p.m. in the area of Katacreek Road and Huer Huero Road. The blaze jumped to 1,200 acres in size within three hours. It grew another 500 acres on Sunday and an additional 300 acres overnight to Monday.
At this time, a total of 857 fire personnel are battling the Pond Fire along with two air tankers, four helicopters, 100 engines, 11 water tenders, 16 dozers and 21 hand crews.
