More than 14,000 acres have burned and thousands have been evacuated from rural areas in central California’s Mariposa County as a wildfire rages for a third day, officials say.
Authorities said the blaze, which was only 10% contained as of Sunday morning, started Friday in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Midpines, a small village about 9 miles northeast of the county seat, Mariposa.
Video from CNN affiliates KFSN and KGO showed flames tearing through trees and spewing thick smoke into the sky on Friday, and in at least one rural area, they burnt close to homes and parked automobiles.
Wes Detamore, a resident of the Mariposa Pines region, told KFSN Friday that “(Authorities) came by and informed us everybody’s got to depart.”
According to a press statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, when the fire drove more than 3,000 residents to flee their homes, he proclaimed a state of emergency for Mariposa County. In the event of an emergency, more resources can be made available to assist in the firefighting effort.
Firefighters in Yosemite are having a difficult time protecting the park’s famous big sequoia trees because of the hot, dry weather.
Firefighters in Yosemite are having a difficult time protecting the park’s famous big sequoia trees because of the hot, dry weather.
When the power went out about 4 p.m. Friday, Detamore claimed the fire was getting closer and closer to them.
Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, stated Saturday that the blaze had destroyed at least 10 structures and damaged another five. More than two thousand structures were in danger, Cal Fire claimed at the time.
According to Cal Fire, the fire had scorched 6,555 acres by Saturday morning and almost 12,000 acres by evening. It was a very active fire situation, and the department reported that emergency personnel were attempting to evacuate individuals and save buildings.
More than 400 firefighters, 45 fire engines, and four helicopters have been dispatched to battle the blaze, according to Cal Fire.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuation orders for some portions of the county to the south and east of the fire. The town of Mariposa was excluded from the declared evacuation zones.
Cal Fire has announced the establishment of a Red Cross evacuation center at a Mariposa elementary school.
In the midst of this week’s unprecedented heat wave, which has reached triple digits in some regions of California, the fire has broken out.
Drought-induced wildfires have become more frequent in the western United States in recent years. According to Cal Fire, roughly 9,000 wildfires ravaged 2.5 million acres in California last year.
Couple was left with “nothing but the clothing on their backs” after their arrest.
CNN spoke with Nick Smith, who said that he had a lot As a result of the blaze, his parents’ house was completely destroyed. For 37 years, his parents, Jane and Wes Smith, were the only residents of their Mariposa house, he claimed.
His sentiments were echoed by many when they heard of the demise of the home where they grew up. “It packs a punch.”
The family had to flee because Smith’s father, a Mariposa sheriff, was working on the blaze when his mother, Jane, had to go with him. By Smith’s account, she had enough time to pack up her horses and leave.
He went on to say, “They were down to their last pair of shoes and a few clothing.”
The pair is now residing with friends and family as they wait for their own place to become available. In the wake of the death of his parents, Smith set up a verified GoFundMe page to raise money for them.
Smith wrote on GoFundMe that his parents had lived in their house for 37 years and had now lost everything. “For the past 37 years, I’ve collected a treasure trove of memories, family heirlooms, and other precious items. The loss of everything in the blink of an eye is tragic, even if it is just things.”
Yosemite National Park’s southern borders are a few dozen miles southwest of the flame, however the park is closer when measured in a straight line.
The Oak Fire is the most significant of the state’s currently active wildfires, which, according to Cal Fire, numbered at least six as of Saturday morning.
About a quarter of Yosemite’s total area has been affected by the Washburn Fire, the second-largest. According to InciWeb, a clearinghouse for fire information in the United States, the blaze had burned over 4,850 acres and was 79% contained by Saturday AM.