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Massive Detwiler fire near Yosemite National Park is 40% contained

Firefighters from Apple Valley Fire Protection District help mop up a residual fire after the massive Detwiler wildfire burned through an area outside of Mariposa, Calif., on Friday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Anh Do.
By Anh Do
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A massive wildfire burning near Yosemite National Park that forced the evacuation of thousands of residents last week is now 40% contained, officials said Sunday.

The Detwiler fire erupted Monday east of Lake McClure in Mariposa County and has burned more than 75,000 acres and uprooted residents and businesses in communities throughout the region, according to Cal Fire. Most of the evacuation orders have since been lifted.

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The wildfire, which produced plumes of smoke that spread as far as Idaho, destroyed 120 structures, including 60 homes, officials said. For four days, workers and families in Mariposa — a historic gold mining town in the region — were forced to evacuate.

Many residents were allowed to return to their communities on Friday, while more evacuation orders were lifted Saturday evening, officials said. The fire is burning about 20 miles west of Yosemite.

Cal Fire spokesman Brandon Vaccaro said he expects full containment of the fire in about two weeks.

carlos.lozano@latimes.com

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Anh Do

Anh Do, the community engagement editor at the Los Angeles Times, works across the newsroom to spotlight our journalists and journalism, bringing our diverse talent closer to the audiences they serve via virtual and live events. She’s a member of the recruiting team and also represents the paper in communicating with the public who have questions about The Times’ journalistic standards and practices. Before this job, she spent 11 years in Metro covering Asian American issues and general assignments. A second-generation journalist, she has reported for the Seattle Times, the Orange County Register and Nguoi Viet Daily News. Do, born in Saigon, is a graduate of USC with degrees in journalism and English. Her writing on culture and trauma has won awards from Columbia University and the Asian American Journalists Assn. She received Yale’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism and, in 2016, was part of The Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks. Apart from words, she’s passionate about all things canine, spending nearly three decades supporting dog rescue around the globe.

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