Thousands ordered to flee California wildfire near Yosemite

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By NOAH BERGER and JOCELYN GECKER

WAWONA, Calif. (AP) — A fast-moving brush fire near Yosemite National Park exploded in size Saturday into one of California’s largest wildfires of the year, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people and shutting off power to more than 2,000 homes and businesses.

The Oak Fire started Friday afternoon southwest of the park near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County and by Saturday had grown to nearly 15 square miles (38 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. It erupted as firefighters made progress against an earlier blaze that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite park.

Evacuation orders were put in effect Saturday for over 6,000 people living across a several-mile span in the sparsely populated, rural area, said Daniel Patterson, a spokesman for the Sierra National Forest.

More than 400 firefighters were battling the blaze, along with helicopters, other aircraft and bulldozers, facing tough conditions that included hot weather, low humidity and bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades, Patterson said.



Flames from the Oak Fire consume a home on Triangle Road in Mariposa County, Calif., Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-fires-california-evacuations-department-of-forestry-and-fire-protection-3b924a9d041b37acdc57e4b4eb8a64fe

[Enter stage left]

1. damn...

[TeamProg]

2. Map link in content body: It's really bad. I know, we were evacuated.

We saw the plume about 2:30 yesterday.

I got the tractor out and made as wide of a fire break around as much of our five acres as I could in the afternoon and were evacuated at about 7:30 pm last night.

https://maps.nwcg.gov/sa/#/%3F/%3F/37.5322/-119.8742/13

[Polly Hennessey]

4. Stay safe. Hoping your firebreak holds.

Last year the Caldor fire came within 25 miles of our property.

[TeamProg]

5. That was a big one. Our prop appears to be okay.

But yah, it’s bad.

Caldor was from Grizzly Flats up toward Eldorado, I think.

[TeamProg]

3. And there's no such thng as Gobal Warmin' n/t

[Rollo]

6. Global Warming at work...

I've lived in California, SF Bay Area, for the past 60 years, and have never seen this level of wildfires this early in the summer. This is NOT a good sign. Usually it's not until late August that we get really warm temps, and then sometimes that is accompanied by light rain. I'm not counting on any rain at all this August, though.