MONTEREY, Calif., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The wildfire in the Big Sur region in California has destroyed at least 15 homes and burned through 500 acres, fire officials said.
"I don't know if our house is still there," Jerry Schiff, who lives on Pfeiffer Ridge Road, where the blaze started said. "I saw a 40-foot wall of orange and said, 'We got to get out of here.' "
The fire, which broke out Sunday night, was fueled by strong winds and dry conditions Monday.
"Right now the winds have died down; they were really gusting overnight and this morning," Los Padres National Forest spokesman Andrew Madsen said Monday afternoon. "Hopefully they will get some containment lines cut now."
No injuries have been reported, and between 50 and 100 people have been evacuated.
More than 200 firefighters and eight aircraft are battling the blaze, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller said the fire was likely caused by the lack of precipitation.
Fire officials are investigating the cause.
