Homes burn as crews battle blazes
Homes burned as a fast-moving wildfire forced an entire Southern California mountain town to evacuate Wednesday, while tourists emptied from the heart of Yosemite National Park so firefighters could battle a growing blaze nearby.
Authorities ordered residents to leave Idyllwild, home to about 12,000 people, and surrounding forest communities in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles. At least four homes burned as crews used aircraft to attack the flames that quickly burned nearly 5 square miles (12 square kilometers) of dry brush and timber in inaccessible terrain. No injuries were reported.
Officers detained a motorist for questioning after people called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle near the fire's starting point in Riverside County, the California Highway Patrol said.
As his neighbors tried to corral dogs and horses, William Blodgett fled when flames hopped a highway near his home in Idyllwild.
"We were all peeling out of there as fast as we could," he told KNBC-TV. "It was apocalyptic."
The fire is one of several across California amid a statewide heat wave. To the north, in the San Francisco Bay Area, at least one home burned in a fast-moving blaze in Clayton, where houses are spread out around windy roads.
Yosemite Valley, the scenic heart of the national park, was closed at noon Wednesday during the height of tourist season as smoke cast a pall on the region from a fire in the Sierra Nevada. The closure was heartbreaking for travelers, many of whom mapped out their trips months in advance to hike and climb amid the spectacular views of cascading waterfalls and sheer rock faces.
"We had one guest who planned a weeklong trip," said Tom Lambert, who owns a vacation rental property near Yosemite Valley. "It was a fatherdaughter trip, for her high school graduation ... Now it's done. It's sad." Another guest had to delay plans to climb Half Dome.
The closure has also been a financial blow to Lambert and other businesses that rely on the summer tourist traffic.
Most people left the valley Tuesday, when officials reluctantly announced the closure, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. The remaining campers packed up their gear Wednesday, joining the exodus that has been mostly orderly.
"People have been very understanding," Gediman said.
Officials emphasized that Yosemite wasn't in imminent danger from the fire. Authorities decided on the shutdown to allow crews to perform protective measures such as burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park that welcomes 4 million visitors annually.
On Wednesday, an extended family from Los Angeles on their annual trip to Yosemite prepared to leave the Upper Pines campground.