Large-scale wildfire rages in California: thousands of people evacuated

Wildfire Oak Fire, raging in Mariposa County (California), near Yosemite National Park, burned almost 12 acres (nearly 000 thousand hectares) and forced thousands of people to evacuate from settlements. Writes about it CNN.

Photo: Shutterstock

The fire, localized as of Saturday evening, July 23, was zero, began on July 22 in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the small village of Midpines.

“The authorities came and told us that everyone should evacuate,” said Wes Detamore, a resident of the Mariposa Pines area.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Mariposa County after a fire forced more than 3000 people to flee their homes. The introduction of a state of emergency allows the use of additional resources to assist in the elimination of the fire.

Electricity in the area was lost on July 22.

#OakFire as seen from Jerseydale area yesterday pic.twitter.com/wfLdeDXBhI

— Christine Warren BSN, RN (@loverofliberals) July 23, 2022

The fire destroyed at least 10 structures and damaged five more, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said Saturday. The fire threatens another 2000 buildings.

Fire activity was extremely high, and emergency personnel were working to evacuate people and protect buildings, the department said.

On the subject: World on fire: abnormal heat and fires in Europe and the USA beat all records

More than 400 people were sent to fight the fire, as well as 45 fire engines and four helicopters.

A Red Cross evacuation center was set up at a primary school in Mariposa.

Much of the US has experienced a heat wave this week, with parts of California experiencing record high temperatures.

The wildfires that have engulfed the western United States in recent years have intensified due to worsening drought conditions caused by climate change.

Surreal apocalyptic scene from the #OakFire pic.twitter.com/ylTyJgoLhb

— Technically J (@Technically_J) July 24, 2022

More than 2,5 million acres (1 million hectares) of land were burned last year in California alone in nearly 9000 fires, according to Cal Fire.

Evacuated "only in clothes"

Nick Smith revealed that his parents' house burned down in a fire. According to him, his parents, Jane and Wes Smith, lived in their home in Mariposa for 37 years.

"It's very sad to see that the house I grew up in is gone," he said.

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Smith said that his father is the sheriff of Mariposa and worked to put out the fire, and his mother Jane had to evacuate. According to Smith, she had time to load her horses and get out of the area.

“They only had clothes on her and shoes on her feet,” he added.

In the meantime, the couple lives with friends and family. Smith created a GoFundMe page to support his parents and help them overcome their loss.

Very intense fire along Triangle rd near lush meadows #OakFire pic.twitter.com/snTGcV8RP9

— Olen Hogenson KMPH (@olenhogenson) July 23, 2022

“They lived in their home for over 37 years and now they have lost everything,” Smith wrote. — 37 years of memories, generations of family treasures and countless other sentimental items. Although it seems like a small thing, it really hurts to lose everything literally in the blink of an eye.”

The flames are blazing a few dozen miles from the southern edge of Yosemite National Park.

The Oak Fire is the largest currently active wildfire in California, according to Cal Fire.

The second largest fire, the Washburn Fire, has been burning in and near the southern part of Yosemite National Park for more than two weeks. It burned more than 4850 acres (nearly 2 hectares) and was 23% contained as of July 79, according to InciWeb, the US fire information clearinghouse.

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