WAWONA, Calif. — A fast-moving wildfire near Yosemite National Park grew Saturday into one of California’s largest wildfires of the year, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people and power outages 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 had quickly grown to 10.2 square miles (26.5 square kilometers) by Saturday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. It erupted as firefighters advanced against an earlier fire that had burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite Park.
Evacuation orders went into effect Saturday for more than 6,000 people living several miles away in the sparsely populated rural area, said Daniel Patterson, a spokesman for the Sierra National Forest.
“Explosive fire behavior is a challenge for firefighters,” Cal Fire said in a statement Saturday morning, which described Oak Fire activity as “extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group fires.”
By Saturday morning, the fire had destroyed 10 residential and commercial buildings, damaged five others and threatened another 2,000 structures, Cal Fire said. The fire caused numerous road closures, including shutting down 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, were battling the blaze, which was in a sparsely populated, mostly rural area in the Sierra Nevada foothills, said Daniel Patterson, a spokesman for the Sierra National Forest.
Hot weather, low humidity and dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades fueled the flames and challenged fire crews, Patterson said. California has experienced increasingly large and deadly wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists said weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.
“The fire is developing quickly. This fire yesterday was throwing embers up to 2 miles in front of it,” Patterson said. “These are exceptional fire conditions.” The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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 does not have access to the affected equipment,” the company said.
An elderly, shoeless man trying to escape a fire Friday crashed his sedan into a ditch in a gated area and was helped by firefighters. He was removed safely from the area and did not appear to have sustained any injuries. Several other residents remained in their homes Friday night as the fire continued to burn nearby.
Meanwhile, firefighters have made significant progress against the 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. It was one of California’s largest fires of the year, along with the Lost Lake fire in Riverside County, which was fully contained in June at 9 square miles (23 square kilometers)
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 at the edge of Mariposa Grove, home to hundreds of giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees by volume.
Wawona Road is expected to reopen Saturday, according to the park’s website.
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Gecker contributed from San Francisco.
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