Huge wildfire slowed by crews

119 square miles by Yosemite have been burned

LOS ANGELES Crews contending with triple-digit temperatures slowed the spread of an aggressive wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes in a rural area of California near Yosemite National Park, officials said Sunday.

The blaze burning for a week has scorched just over 119 square miles of dense brush and dead trees in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Many evacuated residents were allowed to return, but flames continue to threaten about 1,500 homes in Mariposa County.

The fire was 45% contained, but officials said it could take crews another two weeks to fully surround it.

“They are still out in front of an uncontrolled fire, but the fire isn’t moving at 30 mph. The fire is crawling along,” fire spokesman Brandon Vaccaro said Saturday. Flames spared Mariposa, a historic Gold Rush-era town, but more than 60 nearby homes and about 64 other buildings were destroyed.

Nearly 5,000 firefighters fought the blaze using air tankers and fleets of helicopters and bulldozers.

The fire grew by up to 47 square miles a day at its peak. But by the weekend, the growth rate was slowed despite dry, blistering weather, Vaccaro said.

The smoke blurred the scenic vistas of Yosemite National Park, about 35 miles west of the fire. Tourists expecting the grandeur of falls and granite peaks instead saw hazy gray silhouettes.

Some roads remained closed. But Mariposa, with a population of about 2,000, was coming back to life.

Steve Valdez was back at work Saturday at a hardware store despite losing his home of 17 years to the fire.

“There are people out there who depend upon us to get power, to get water, to get their equipment fixed,” he said.

Valdez, 60, and his wife had 20 minutes notice to flee the encroaching flames. When they returned, only the home’s chimney was standing.