Part of Highway 1 in the region was closed in both directions Saturday, the California Department of Transportation said in a tweet. The road, which provides stunning views for those traveling along California’s coastline, was closed between Andrew Molera State Park and the Granite Canyon Bridge, the transportation department said.
Cal Fire reported the fire had damaged one structure.
Although the strongest winds ended early Saturday morning, the area is still expected to see light winds ranging from 5 to 10 mph through the weekend, the NWS said.
On Friday, flames from the Colorado Fire were visible about 70 miles away in Santa Cruz County, Cal Fire said.
The fire comes as drought conditions have been improving in California, thanks to the recent heavy rains across the state. The rainfall helped eliminate the highest level of drought and greatly reduced the level 3 out of 4 “extreme drought” from 80% of the state in mid-December to 1% this week.
But drought remains a likely culprit behind the spread of the Colorado Fire, the NWS said.
“Anecdotally it seems as though the long term drought is acting like a chronic illness where even recent rains and cold winter wx (weather) isn`t helping to keep fires from developing,” the NWS said.
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Andy Rose and Haley Brink contributed to this report.