A wildfire that ignited in western Fresno County near the Monterey County line doubled in size over the past 24 hours, pumping out massive amounts of smoke and triggering a series of evacuations, officials said.

Firefighters battling a California wildfire that has burned through more than 5 square miles of the high Sierra made significant progress slowing its growth on Wednesday, but hundreds of residents whose homes are threatened remained under evacuation orders.

A blaze near the remote Northern California mountain community of Sierra Brooks was uncontained. Authorities expanded evacuation orders for a total of more than 530 residents Tuesday evening after strong winds pushed flames through dry brush and timber about 50 miles north of Lake Tahoe.