Photo: The Canadian Press
California Highway Patrol Officer Matthew Chance walks away from a car that crashed into a ditch while driving from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, California, on Friday, July 22, 2022.
A brush fire near Yosemite National Park erupted Saturday in one of California’s largest wildfires of the year, prompting evacuation orders for thousands and cutting power to more than 2,000 homes and businesses. .
The Oak Fire, which started Friday afternoon southwest of the park near Midpines in Mariposa County, had grown to 10.2 square miles (26.5 square kilometers) by Saturday morning, according to the Department of California Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. It erupted as firefighters advanced against an earlier fire burning at the edge of a giant sequoia forest in the southernmost part of Yosemite Park.
Evacuation orders went into effect Saturday for more than 6,000 people living in the sparsely populated rural area, said Daniel Patterson, a spokesman for the Sierra National Forest.
“The explosive behavior of the fire is challenging firefighters,” Cal Fire said in a statement Saturday morning that described the Oak Fire’s activity as “extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and cluster fires.”
By Saturday morning, the fire had destroyed 10 residential and commercial structures, damaged five more and threatened 2,000 more structures, Cal Fire said. The fast-growing fire led to numerous road closures, including the closure of Highway 140 between Carstens Road and Allred Road, blocking one of the main routes into Yosemite.
More than 400 firefighters, along with helicopters, other aircraft and bulldozers, battled the blaze, which was in a sparsely populated, mostly rural area of the Sierra Nevada foothills, said Daniel Patterson, a spokesman for the Sierra National Forest.
Warm weather, low humidity and bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades fueled the fire and challenged fire crews, Patterson said.
“The fire is moving fast. This fire was throwing embers in front of it up to 2 miles yesterday,” Patterson said. “These are exceptional fire conditions.”
Pacific Gas & Electric said on its website that more than 2,600 homes and businesses in the area had lost power as of Friday afternoon and there was no indication when it would be restored. “PG&E is unable to access affected equipment,” the company said.
A shoeless elderly man trying to escape the fire Friday crashed his sedan into a ditch in a closed area and was helped by firefighters. He was safely removed from the area and did not appear to be injured. Several other residents stayed in their homes Friday night as the fire continued to burn nearby.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Cal Fire said.
Meanwhile, firefighters have made significant progress against a wildfire that started in Yosemite National Park and burned through the Sierra National Forest.
The Washburn fire was 79 percent contained Friday after burning about 7.5 square miles (19.4 square kilometers) of forest.
The fire broke out on July 7 and forced the closure of Yosemite’s South Entrance and the evacuation of the community of Wawona as it burned on the edge of Mariposa Grove, home to hundreds of giant sequoias, the largest trees in the world by volume.
Wawona Road is scheduled to reopen Saturday, according to the park’s website.