Newsman: Wildfire that rapidly expanding near California’s Yosemite National Park at 17,000 acres impelled thousands of evacuations Monday and sent smoke to the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. Yosemite National Forest, about 30 miles east of the Oak Fire’s core, dodged a bullet this summer when the Washburn Fire threatened its famous giant sequoia trees, which were spared destruction. The 4,866-acre Washburn Fire was 87% contained Monday.
Firefighters were able to slow the fire overnight Sunday by creating lines along its perimeter to protect neighboring communities like Midpines in rural Mariposa County, where the wildfire started.
The Oak Fire, which erupted Friday, was 10% contained Monday as firefighters traversed steep terrain in boiling temperatures and low humidity.
It made a “substantial run” Sunday toward the mountain community of Mariposa Pines, but firefighters were able to stop its advance.
“It was a huge win for us,” said Justin Macomb, an operations section chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
“Firefighters are engaged 24 hours a day. They are giving it their best effort,” he said at a briefing Monday morning. “I’m more optimistic today about what’s going to happen than I have been in previous days.”
Ten structures were destroyed, seven were damaged and more than 3,200 were threatened as firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from encroaching on the national park.
An air quality advisory was scheduled to remain in effect for the Bay Area through Wednesday. Officials were also keeping an eye on a 5-acre wildfire in Sonoma County.
