Fire spares Gold Rush-era town
California blaze now 15 percent contained
MARIPOSA, Calif. — An aggressive wildfire sweeping through California foothills covered with dense brush and trees destroyed dozens of homes but spared a historic Gold Rushera town popular with tourists bound for Yosemite National Park, officials said Friday.
Firefighters lifted an evacuation order for residents of Mariposa and reopened Highway 140 between the town and Yosemite, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Andy Isolano said.
Mariposa escaped damage as 58 homes and 60 other building elsewhere in the area were burned by the wildfire that has scorched 115 square miles (298 square kilometers), threatened at least 1,500 homes and forced almost 5,000 people to evacuate.
Roughly a dozen of the destroyed homes had dotted hills 10 miles west of Maricopa. Residents a few miles to the north also saw damage.
Officials said the fire was 15 percent contained after nearly $11 million was spent to battle the blaze. The cause remained under investigation.
Firefighters were battling 17 blazes across the state.
Officials said a boy who had been smoking marijuana was arrested for investigation of starting a small wildfire Thursday outside Sacramento.
The fire burned 12 acres in the Auburn area. No homes were damaged and no injuries were reported.
In the fire near Mariposa, officials were investigating an injury accident involving a fire engine. No further details were available.
The fire had crept within a half-mile of Mariposa but crews were able to stop it by dropping red fire retardant and using bulldozers and hand crews to build fire brakes, said Cal Fire spokesman Jason Motta.
“We saw the fire come over the ridge on the north side of Mariposa and it crested the ridge just at sundown” when it was cooling down, Motta said. The lower temperatures helped crews stop its progress.
“The imminent threat to Mariposa is over but fire crews are maintaining the line to control the threat,” he said.
Retiree Suzie Ummels, 61, who lives in Mariposa, said she learned through a friend that her home was spared. Still, she’s going stir-crazy in an evacuation center as she longs for the comforts of home.