Reagan Library survives wildfire, thousands more homes threatened

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has survived a wildfire after flames got dangerously close to the facility earlier this week, according to USA Today.

Officials say that despite the library being saved, thousands of homes in the Golden State remain threatened

At least 10 fires are burning across the state, with hurricane-force winds potentially exacerbating them, according to the newspaper. The fires have consumed more than 144 square miles and led to mandatory evacuations for at least 36,000 residents, according to Cal Fire.

{mosads}The National Weather Service has said more than 17 million Californians live in parts of the state considered to be at critical or severe risk, with Southern California at large subject to an “extreme red flag warning.”

The presidential library was saved from burning by both a change in the winds and goats who chewed through vegetation around the facility and created a fire break, according to the USA Today report. The blaze destroyed two buildings before it was brought under control.

The Kincade Fire, which has ravaged the state’s wine country, has destroyed more than 260 buildings, a 150-year-old winery among them, and was 45 percent contained as of Wednesday night. While conditions could change for the worse, with officials warning up to 60,000 people should remain ready to evacuate, Cal Fire Division Chief Jonathan Cox said the outlook is positive.

“We can’t let our guard down … but the confidence level has gone way up in the past 24 hours,” Cox said, according to USA Today.

Officials have also rescinded certain evacuation forces for the Getty Fire in the Los Angeles County area after it led to the evacuation of more than 7,000 households. Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart attributed the accidental fire, which was at 27 percent containment Wednesday night, to high winds blowing a tree branch onto power lines.

“This errant tree branch caused the sparking and arcing of the power lines, igniting nearby brush,” Stewart said, according to USA Today.