More than 2,500 firefighters with aircraft support were battling the blaze that erupted last Friday. Read more ⤵️
JERSEYDALE, Calif. — Firefighters have significantly slowed the spread of a huge wildfire burning in a forest near Yosemite National Park that burned 55 homes and other buildings and forced thousands from their homes, officials said Monday.
“It’s been just horrendous with the air quality,” said Kim Zagaris, an advisor with the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which maps wildfires across the country. There are two major blazes burning in California, which is experiencing a fairly typical ramp-up to what is sure to be an active fire year once California's infamous Santa Ana and Diablo wind events begin in September, Zagaris said.
Evacuations were in place Monday for over 6,000 people living across a several-mile span of the sparsely populated fire zone in the Sierra Nevada foothills, though a handful of residents defied the orders and stayed behind, said Adrienne Freeman, a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson.Jane and Wes Smith lost their home of more than 37 years and Jane had only enough time to load her two horses and flee, according to their son, Nick Smith, SFGate reported.
Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 that’s one of the main routes into Yosemite.
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