Wildfires are burning through the west coast yet again, this time in the San Jacinto Mountains in California within two miles of the popular vacation spot Palm Springs. A fire that started Monday has not yet been contained Thursday and has now covered more than 22,800 acres and destroyed 23 structures, seven of them homes.
The fire, now burning 100 miles east of Los Angeles, broke out Monday afternoon in a community called Mountain Center just off of State Highway 243. ABC reports that officials say the fire was human caused, but it is unknown if it was accidental or intentional.
As of Thursday, over 6,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes and the cost of efforts to contain the fire have now reached $6.1 million. According to NBC Los Angeles 3,000 firefighters are still fighting the blaze, using 228 fire engines and even 17 helicopters trying to fight it from the air.
Residents from the town of Idyllwild, near where the fire is burning, were all evacuated from the town Wednesday night and now they fear losing their homes.
Officials say the fire is being kept from populated areas and that no one has been injured or killed. Their number one priority at this point is protecting homes from the blaze.