Hundreds Flee Fire Raging Near Yosemite
Hundreds of residents were evacuated from homes near Yosemite National Park on Wednesday as wind fanned a wildfire that was one of 32 major blazes across the West.
Four of the most active fires had burned more than 53,000 acres in Northern California, but in Oregon and Washington rain helped firefighters gain the upper hand.
The 32 fires counted Wednesday afternoon were down from 42 the day before, said Rob Kopack of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
“It’s still very dicey in the Northwest right now. But there has been some progress,” Kopack said. “California has not had relief from weather.”
The fire outside Yosemite had burned 11,500 acres and closed some roads leading into the park. About 400 residents fled their homes, and four homes burned. Investigators believe the fire was caused by arson.
Many residents were staying at Red Cross shelters.
“It’s probably the worst fire we’ve ever seen, and I’ve been here 42 years,” said Joan Tune, a Red Cross volunteer and resident of the threatened town of Coulterville, west of Yosemite. She called the fire “monstrous . . . a great ball of black and green and white smoke.”
About 80 miles northwest, a 3,800-acre wildfire kept about 50 evacuees in a Red Cross shelter set up in a high school.
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