150 homes evacuated near Yosemite as wildfire burns 1,600 acres

A wildfire stoked by powerful winds had charred 1,600 acres near the primary roadway leading to Yosemite National Park on Monday night and led authorities to evacuate at least 150 homes.

More than 700 firefighters were battling the Carstens fire, which broke out Sunday afternoon east of State Route 140 in the Midpines area, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

No structures had been reported damaged, but evacuations had been ordered for areas including Hites Cove, Jerseydale and Clarks Valley, fire officials said.

Additional evacuations were ordered Monday night, but fire officials did not say how many homes were affected.

Route 140 was closed at Triangle Road, officials said, and Triangle Road was shut in three additional areas. Fire officials said Monday night that the blaze was about 15% contained. Its cause was under investigation.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag fire warning Monday for the Sierra Nevada and northeast California because of gusty winds and low relative humidity.

In Southern California, the Hathaway fire north of Banning was 73% contained and had burned more than 3,800 acres in the San Bernardino Mountains, the U.S. Forest Service said.

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Twitter: @LAJourno | robert.lopez@latimes.com