Marin County Park Wildfire Prompts Evacuations

Update 3.31 a.m. EDT: Irving fire spread to 100 acres, Marin County Fire tweeted. Containment was at 10 percent and slowly increasing. Due to the very steep terrain, a combination of bulldozers, hand crews, water tenders and engines were employed.

Update 2.12 a.m. EDT, Tuesday: Marin County Fire tweeted the traffic in both directions of Arroyo Road and the some parts of Sir Francis Drake road between Nicasio Valley and Platform Bridge Road were closed due to the wildfire. which has been tagged as Irving Fire. The agency asked everyone to avoid the areas mentioned. No additional evacuation orders were placed at the moment.

Original story

A vegetation fire, which broke out in the Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin County, California, at around 8 p.m. local time (11 p.m. EDT) on Monday, prompted evacuation orders, fire officials said.

The now 40-acre wildfire was burning in an area difficult for firefighters to access, reported ABC News7.

According to a tweet by Marin County Fire Department, evacuation orders were put in place for Mountain King Road, Portola Avenue and Alamo down to Barranca. Residents were advised to move to Lagunitas School until further instructions were provided.

Reports said around 20 to 30 structures were threatened due to the fire which was slowly spreading, and was expected to grow more.

As of 9 p.m. local time (12 a.m. EDT) the fire was at zero percent containment, SF Gate reported.

Residents in San Geronimo and Fairfax communities were warned the smoke from the fire could be strong in the area. Reports said smoky conditions were noted in San Rafael.

“It’s kind of treacherous terrain,” Marin County spokesperson Laine Hendricks said, adding it was challenging for the firefighters to reach the blaze.He said though a lot of people were concerned about the fire due to the smoke, only residents who were living near the roads have been asked to evacuate. The American Red Cross was sent to Lagunitas School to help people at the shelter.

Marin County residents were requested to follow the local news for updates on the fire, and follow all instructions given by Marin County Fire or Sheriff's Department officials.

This is a developing story.