Wildfire kills 1 firefighter, cuts route to Yosemite park
Blaze scorches 16 sq. km of dry brush along hillsides on the park’s western edge
MARIPOSA, Calif. — A wildfire that killed a California firefighter grew quickly and forced the closure of a key route into Yosemite National Park as crews contended with sweltering conditions Sunday, authorities said.
The blaze that broke out Friday scorched more than 16 square kilometres of dry brush along steep, remote hillsides on the park’s western edge. It was burning largely out of control, and officials shut off electricity to many areas, including Yosemite Valley, as a safety precaution.
Guests were ordered to leave Yosemite Cedar Lodge Saturday as flames crept up slopes and the air became thick with smoke.
“You can’t see anything, it’s so smoky outside. It’s crazy,” said front desk clerk Spencer Arebalo, one of a handful of employees who stayed behind at the popular hotel inside the park.
He said it was surreal to see the property empty at the height of tourist season.
“We’re counting on being closed at least one more day,” Arebalo said.
Evacuations were also ordered in rural communities just outside the park, and people in nearby lodges and motels were told to be ready to leave if flames approach. A stretch of State Route 140 into Yosemite was closed, and motorists were urged to find alternate routes.
Spiking temperatures and inaccessible terrain was making it difficult for crews to slow the flames, U.S. Forest Service fire Capt. Mike Seymour said.
Heavy fire equipment operator Braden Varney, 36, died early Saturday on the fire line, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Varney was driving a bulldozer to create a gap in vegetation to keep the flames from extending into a nearby community, according to fire chief Nancy Koerperich.
The wildfire is one of several burning across the state and among 56 large blazes that are active in the U.S., most in the American West, a region that is struggling with drought and heat.
A blaze near the California-Oregon border that killed a 72-year-old resident and injured three firefighters was almost entirely contained after burning more than 155 sq. km of dry brush. Crews got full control over a stubborn fire that scorched 368 square km of brush and destroyed 20 structures in Yolo and Napa counties. Investigators said an electric livestock fence that was improperly installed sparked the flames.
In the fire near Yosemite, investigators were trying to find out more details about Varney’s death Saturday, but they believe he was working his way out of the fire area when he was killed.