A wildfire that ignited in the late afternoon on Saturday Aug. 13 has now spread through over 6,000 acres of land and burned more than 30 homes and buildings. Local residents were forced to evacuate, as fire officials continue to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Cal Fire's most recent update on the "Chimney Fire" was issued early on Tuesday Aug. 16, at approximately 6:30 a.m. EST. According to the advisory, the wildfire, which is located in California's San Luis Obispo County at Running Deer Road and Chimney Rock Road (just south of Lake Nacimiento) has burned through 6,400 acres of land and is currently at 10 percent containment.

KSBW News reports that the Chimney Fire has been assigned a "type 1" incident level, meaning that the most experienced and highly trained crews have been dispatched to battle it. As of Tuesday morning, a total of 1,675 firefighting personnel had been assigned to tend to this wildfire. Among the firefighting resources being utilized are: 200 fire engines; 39 fire crews; seven air tankers; five helicopters; 26 dozers; and 22 water tenders.

Authorities have reported that at least 20 homes and 12 other buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed by this fire. In addition, 200 other structures are currently threatened by the fast-burning flames. It was noted, too, that this number may rise substantially over the coming days and will not be set in stone until a final assessment has been completed.

With so many homes already destroyed and so many more structures under serious threat, one of the top priorities for firefighters is to continue to protect local residences from further damage.

On Sunday, the northeast flank of the fire reportedly "ripped through" certain residential areas near the edge of Lake Nacimiento.

"It looks as if [the fire] came in from down below and ran up the hill and ignited a number of mobile homes in the area right here," Chief Michael Yule, Chimney Fire Public Information Officer told reporters.

The fire's spread has been increasing exponentially since it was sparked over the weekend, thanks in large part to high temperatures and winds in the area that were reported to agitate the blaze and possibly push it closer to even more homes and other vulnerable structures near the fire's perimeter.

As such, fire officials have issued evacuation orders for residents in the communities of Running Deer Ranch, Tri-County, Cal Shasta, Rancho de Lago, and South Shore Village. Additionally, there is a road closure at the intersection of Chimney Rock Road and Running Deer Road.

The Red Cross reportedly has an evacuation center "on standby" for residents forced from their homes. It is located at Flamson Middle School, at 24th and Spring Streets in Paso Robles. Evacuees who are in need of assistance are urged to call the Red Cross at (805) 250-1533.

San Luis Obispo News reports that compounding issue of weather conditions feeding the Chimney Fire flames is that the affected area hasn't seen another significant fire burn through it in over 60 years, which means that unless properly managed, a huge amount of dense and dry brush is prime to quickly catch fire and spread it in a fast, furious manner.

Aside from the obvious danger of this situation, the potential for facing a rapidly spreading inferno poses a great risk to firefighters on the ground who, only partway through a very active wildfire season, are already fatigued to the point of overwhelm from dealing with their taxing workload.

"I know a lot of you have been on the road for weeks," San Luis Obispo County Cal Fire Chief Scott Jalbert told firefighters on Monday. "I want you to hit this hard, but I also want you to pace yourself. It's a long road. The key thing here that I want is that everybody goes home. Everybody goes home from this incident."

As of Tuesday morning, the official Cal Fire situation report indicated that the Chimney Fire continues to burn actively, as suppression efforts continue via ground and air resources. A damage assessment is currently underway, as well as efforts to restore essential services to the affected areas.

Working through Tuesday evening and into Wednesday, firefighters will continue to construct containment lines while they strengthen and secure existing control lines for this wildfire.