Vegetation fire burns 500 acres in rural SLO County. See the photos

A fast-moving vegetation fire burned 500 acres in California Valley on Monday afternoon, according to emergency app Watch Duty.

The total acreage exceeded an earlier predicated potential for 300 acres, according to Watch Duty. Forward progress was stopped at around 3 p.m.

As of 3:40 p.m., Cal Fire said the fire was 50% contained.

Earlier in the day, cameras on the ALERTCalifornia network showed a large amount of smoke rising up from an area of flat grassland, south of Highway 58 at 12500 Soda Lake Road. The area is north of Carrizo Plain National Monument.

The fire was reported at 12:59 p.m. on Monday, according to PulsePoint.

Cal Fire had 21 emergency response units on scene, including up to 6 helicopters, according to emergency response apps PulsePoint and Watch Duty. Resources were expected to be committed for the following four to five hours.

This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 1:33 PM.

Chloe Shrager

The Tribune

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Chloe Shrager is the courts and crimes reporter for The Tribune. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in Political Science. When not writing, she enjoys surfing, backpacking, skiing and hanging out with her cat, Billy Goat. Support my work with a digital subscription