Fire crews are making substantial progress toward fully containing a brush fire that prompted evacuations in the hills near Castaic earlier in the week.
The Route Fire was 56% contained as of Friday afternoon with 5,208 acres charred, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
All evacuation orders have been lifted.
Damage from the fire, which broke out Wednesday, was limited. However, two structures were lost.
Chris Burkhead lost his home and, sadly, his dog, Honey Bee.
“It’s kind of devastating. I think I’m still in shock … I miss my dog like crazy. I can’t believe what happened. I’ve been here since 2012, living by myself with my dog. I wasn’t even allowed to come here and save her,” he told KTLA.
Burkhead, however, did consider himself lucky in that all but two of his chickens survived the blaze.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Burkhead. To donate, click here.
Although the immediate threat is over, the Route Fire continues to impact the Castaic area in other ways.
Castaic Lake was closed to the public Thursday due to the fire, Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation tweeted.
On Thursday, firefighters had to contend again with scorching heat as temperatures hit triple digits. The mercury had reached 107 degrees in Castaic at 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
“Yesterday we had seven individuals that were treated for heat-related injuries … We’re very happy to report all of them have been released from the hospital,” Fire Department Deputy Chief Tom Ewald said during a news conference Thursday.
More triple-digit temperatures await firefighters Friday as well.
