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A brush fire burning near Yosemite National Park erupted Saturday into California’s largest wildfire of the year, prompting thousands to evacuate and knocking out power to more than 2,000 homes and businesses.
The Oak Fire started Friday afternoon in the town of Midpines in Mariposa County, southwest of the park, and by Saturday had grown to 19 square miles (48 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
It happened as firefighters made progress on a fire that had burned to the edge of a giant grove of sequoias at the south end of Yosemite National Park.
Sierra National Forest spokesman Daniel Patterson said evacuation orders were in effect Saturday for more than 6,000 people living within several miles.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County on Saturday due to the effects of the Oak Fire.
More than 400 firefighters were battling the blaze, along with helicopters, other aircraft and bulldozers, in tough conditions including hot weather, low humidity and bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades, Patterson said.
The fire’s explosive nature challenges firefighters, he said in a statement Saturday, with the Oak Fire experiencing high activity with frequent runs, backfires and group fires.
As of Saturday morning, the fire had destroyed 10 residential and commercial buildings, damaged five others and was threatening 2,000 more, Cal Fire said. The fire caused several road closures, including the closure of Highway 140 between Carstens Road and Allred Road, which closed the main roads into Yosemite.
California has experienced increasing and deadly wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists say that the weather will become more severe and wildfires will be more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.
The fire is moving fast. This fire was throwing embers up to 2 miles in front of it yesterday, Patterson said. These are exceptional fire conditions.” The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Pacific Gas and Electric said on its website that more than 2,600 homes and businesses in the area were without power as of Friday afternoon, and there was no indication when it would be restored. PG&E was unable to locate the affected equipment,” he explained.
On Friday, a shoeless elderly man who tried to escape the blaze was rescued by firefighters by driving a sedan into a hole in an enclosed space. He was safely evacuated from the area and does not appear to have been injured. Several other residents remained at home Friday night as the fire burned nearby.
Meanwhile, firefighters have made significant progress on the Sierra National Forest wildfire that started in Yosemite National Park.
The Washburn fire was 79% contained Friday after burning 7.5 square miles (19.4 square kilometers) of forest. It was one of California’s largest fires of the year, along with the Lake Fire that burned through Riverside County in June, at 9 square miles (23 square kilometers).
The fire, which broke out on July 7 and forced the closure of Yosemite’s southern entrance and the evacuation of the Wawona community, burned at the edge of Mariposa Grove, home to hundreds of giant sequoias, the largest in the world.
Wawona Road is scheduled to reopen on Saturday, according to the park’s website.
(Only the title and image of this report may have been reproduced by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content was generated automatically from the syndicated feed.)
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