Fire threatens Yosemite area
A growing fire about 30 miles west of Yosemite Valley triggered the evacuations of 170 homes Saturday, and more are threatened, fire officials said.
Because of the fire, authorities cut the power grid to Yosemite National Park, and it had not been restored by Saturday evening.
Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the Telegraph fire grew from about 1,000 acres to around 16,000 acres, or 25 square miles, during the day Saturday.
Fires this time of year “are extremely active,” Berlant said. “The erratic behavior is because there is so much fuel out there to burn.”
About 900 firefighters are battling the blaze on both sides of a steep canyon along the Merced River.
Karen Guillemin, a department spokeswoman, said most of the evacuated homes are in Midpines but that residents of other small towns are being asked to prepare to leave. In all, about 2,000 homes are threatened, officials said.
Midpines is on California 140, the thoroughfare that leads to the west entrance of Yosemite National Park. Campers on nearby Bureau of Land Management land were evacuated as a precaution.
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