A brush fire in Northern California’s San Benito County spread to nearly 90 acres Thursday and destroyed at least one structure, officials said.
The Anzar fire was reported around 3:20 p.m. east of the community of Aromas, between Salinas and Gilroy, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Initially, two fires were reported in the area with one’s forward progress stopped at around 50 acres, officials said.
However, the second fire continued to grow and had reached 86 acres with 10% containment as of 7:15 p.m.
The fire prompted evacuations in the area near Anzar Road with an evacuation center set up at Anzar High School.
As of 8 p.m., the fire had destroyed one structure and was threatening at least four others, Cal Fire officials said. It was unclear whether the destroyed structure was a home or other building.
About 200 fire personnel were battling the blaze, which officials said was burning at a moderate rate of spread, fueled by acres of eucalyptus trees.
The Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit said it had sent nine engines, a helicopter and a bulldozer to assist with firefighting.