Forest fire in California: “Explosive fire” near Yosemite National Park

The western United States is suffering from a drought, and forest fires occur again and again. A state of emergency has been declared in the Yosemite National Park area. The flames spread quickly. Thousands had to get to safety.

In the US state of California, a state of emergency has been declared in the area due to a rapidly spreading forest fire near Yosemite National Park. The fire had spread “explosively,” local authorities said. By Saturday afternoon (local time), an area of ​​​​a good 48 square kilometers was affected, as the competent authority Calfire announced on its website. The so-called Oak Fire broke out on Friday in the Mariposa district for reasons that are still unknown and could not initially be contained.

As of Saturday, more than 6,000 people in the sparsely populated area had been asked to leave their homes. Ten residential and commercial buildings were destroyed and five damaged, the California Fire Department reported. A total of 2700 buildings are threatened by the fire.

Several roads were closed because of the blaze, including Highway 140, one of the main access routes to Yosemite. According to the information, almost 2,100 firefighters are deployed with more than 200 fire engines, heavy equipment and supported by 17 helicopters.

“Extraordinary Fire Conditions”

Sierra National Forest spokesman Daniel Patterson said the region’s worst drought in decades, heat and bone-dry vegetation were also creating “extraordinary fire conditions.” The flames spread at high speed.

Energy company Pacific Gas & Electric said on its website that power to more than 2,600 homes and businesses in the region had been disrupted since Friday. There is no telling how long this will last.

A fire that broke out in Yosemite Park on July 7 and spread to the Sierra National Forest was nearly 80 percent under control as of Saturday, according to park officials. It destroyed almost 20 square kilometers of forest.

Suffering from a prolonged drought, the western United States has seen fires of exceptional magnitude and intensity in recent years. At the same time, the fire season is getting longer and longer. The fire brigades fear particularly severe forest fires this year.