Firefighters battling a California wildfire burning east of San Francisco have increased containment on the fire, but hot weather is in the forecast for the next few days.
Nearly 500 firefighters, along with several air tankers from throughout the state are working on the fire in San Joaquin County.
Weather conditions became more favorable, allowing crews to make progress constructing and improving control lines. The fire is now 50% contained, according to CalFire.
The fire started June 1. The cause is under investigation.
The fire quickly spread across hundreds of acres of tall grass, prompting evacuation orders of nearby locales.
The favorable firefighting conditions are not expected to last. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the week warning of “dangerous hot conditions” with temperatures of 95 to 108 possible in Central California.
The heat is moving over portions of the Western U.S. this week comes from a massive heat dome parked over Mexico that began to shift northward and into the Southwestern and South Central, according to AccuWeather.
Topics California Trends Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire