In the meantime, the couple is staying with friends and family.

“They had just the clothes on their back and the shoes on their feet,” he added. She had time to load their horses and get out of the area, according to Smith. Smith told CNN that his father is a Mariposa sheriff and was working on the fire when his mother, Jane, had to evacuate. “It hits hard.”Ī firefighter runs to extinguish flames from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County on Friday. “It’s pretty sad to see the house that I grew up in and was raised in gone,” he said. His parents, Jane and Wes Smith, lived in their Mariposa home for 37 years, he said. Nick Smith told CNN his parents’ home burned down as a result of the fire. In California alone, more than 2.5 million acres were burned in nearly 9,000 fires last year, according to Cal Fire.Ĭouple left with ‘just the clothes on their back’ Wildfires scorching the western US in recent years have become more common due to worsening drought conditions fueled by climate change. The blaze comes as much of the US has been experiencing an extreme heat wave this week, with parts of California seeing temperatures in the triple-digits. The evacuation zones did not include the town of Mariposa.Ī Red Cross evacuation center has been established at an elementary school in Mariposa, Cal Fire said. Fire activity was extreme, and emergency personnel were working to evacuate people and protect buildings, the department said.Įleven fire crews with more than 400 personnel, as well as 45 fire engines and four helicopters, have been assigned to fight the flames, Cal Fire said.Įvacuations have been ordered for certain areas of Mariposa County south and east of the fire, as shown in an online map. It had burned 6,555 acres by Saturday morning and nearly 12,000 that evening, according to Cal Fire.

At that time, the blaze was threatening 2,000 other structures, Cal Fire said. The fire had destroyed at least 10 structures and damaged another five, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said Saturday. Hot, dry conditions are making it harder for firefighters trying to protect Yosemite's giant sequoiasĮlectricity service in the area stopped Friday at about 4 p.m., “and the fire has been coming towards us faster and faster,” Detamore said. The Washburn Fire made significant push to the east Wednesday outside of Yosemite National Parks borders. Activating a state of emergency allows for additional resources to aid response to the fire. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County after the fire forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate their homes, a news release from his office said. “(Authorities) came by … and told us everybody’s got to go,” Wes Detamore, a resident of the Mariposa Pines area, told KFSN Friday. The fire, which remained 0% contained Sunday morning, began Friday in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the small community of Midpines, roughly a 9-mile drive northeast of the county seat, the town of Mariposa, state fire officials said.įlames tore through trees and sent thick smoke into the sky Friday, and in at least one rural area burned close to homes and parked vehicles, video from CNN affiliates KFSN and KGO showed.

A wildfire raging for a third day Sunday in central California’s Mariposa County outside Yosemite National Park has burned more than 14,000 acres and forced thousands to evacuate from rural communities, officials said.

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