Large portion of Los Padres National Forest closes due to Willow Fire
A large portion of Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County was closed Thursday while firefighters continue to battle the Willow Fire.
The Willow Fire, which had burned 2,877 acres as of Thursday, has not grown in size over the last few days, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Containment has grown from 13% to 19% over the last day, the agency said.
The forest closure encompasses a significant portion of Los Padres National Forest.
No access is permitted from the lost valley trail area up to the pine ridge trail area and south along the forest’s border with Fort Hunter Liggett military base.
The closure area is much larger than the actual footprint of the fire and the area affected by current evacuation orders.
A crew of hotshot firefighters were flown in Wednesday to the remote location near Big Sur where the fire is located, since it would take hours to hike in to some areas around the blaze.
There were 526 personnel working on site Thursday.
About 100 residences are threatened by the Willow Fire, and 25 mixed commercial and residential structures are threatened, according to the Forest Service. No structures have been damaged to date.
The cause of the fire, which started on June 17, is still under investigation.
This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Large portion of Los Padres National Forest closes due to Willow Fire."
