A wildfire near the Yosemite National Park known as the Oak Fire neared 16,000 acres on Sunday and with 0% containment.
The fire, which is blazing through dry vegetation in Mariposa County, spread smoke into park and prompted evacuations.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported:
The explosive Oak Fire burning west of Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County swelled to more than 15,600 acres Sunday, Cal Fire said, its rapid spread fueled by extreme drought, an abundance of dead trees and persistent hot, dry weather.
The wildfire, California’s largest of the year so far, threatened several mountain communities and was 0% contained as of Sunday night after growing by about 2,300 acres overnight Saturday, according to Cal Fire.
The fire had destroyed at least 10 residential or commercial structures, and Cal Fire stressed that the damage assessment was only beginning. Road closures and evacuation orders affecting nearly 5,000 people were in place for a wide area east and south of the fire. Some 2,700 structures were threatened, Cal Fire said.
Photos of the fire showed the intensity of the blaze and the growing devastation:
TOPSHOT – The sun sinks behind a smoky sky and burned forest at the Oak Fire on near Mariposa, California, on July 24, 2022. – The fierce California wildfire expanded early Sunday burning several thousand acres and forcing evacuations, as tens of millions of Americans sweltered through scorching heat with already record-setting temperatures due to climb even further. More than 2,000 firefighters backed by 17 helicopters have been deployed against the Oak Fire, which broke out Friday near Yosemite National Park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a report. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT – A forest is incinerated by the Oak Fire near Midpines, northeast of Mariposa, California, on July 23, 2022. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
A firefighter uses a drip torch to light a backfire at the Oak Fire near Mariposa, California, on July 24, 2022. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
Flames consume a home on Triangle Rd. as the Oak Fire burns in Mariposa County, Calif., on Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A bird flies above an air tanker battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, Calif., on Sunday, July 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A hotshot crew marches along a burning forest at the Oak Fire near Midpines, northeast of Mariposa, California, on July 23, 2022. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
Tthe Oak Fire chews through the forest near Midpines, northeast of Mariposa, California, on July 23, 2022. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
Destroyed property is left in its wake as the Oak Fire chews through the forest near Midpines, northeast of Mariposa, California, on July 23, 2022. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP) (Photo by DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)
The fire is separate from the Washburn Fire, which threatened sequoia trees in Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove earlier this month.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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