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Wildfire Rages Near Yosemite National Park

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The Associated Press

Published: July 28, 2008

MARIPOSA, Calif. - An out-of-control wildfire burning Sunday near an entrance to Yosemite National Park has destroyed eight homes and threatened thousands more as flames forced authorities to cut power to the park.

The blaze has charred more than 18,000 acres since Friday as wooded slopes ignited amid hot, dry conditions that have plagued California for months. The fire was 16 percent contained Sunday afternoon.

"There's no fire history in the past 100 hundred years. That's one of the reasons this fire's been able to burn so erratically," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Near Yosemite National Park, the wildfire led officials to order the evacuations of 195 homes under immediate threat. About 2,000 homes faced at least some danger from the fast-spreading flames, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.
State fire spokeswoman Karen Guillemin said the blaze was sparked by someone target shooting but would not elaborate.

Most of the evacuated homes are in the town of Midpines, about 12 miles from the park. The southern edge of the blaze was as little as two miles from Mariposa, a town of about 1,800 residents.

To protect firefighters battling flames beneath power lines, electricity was cut to a wide area, including the national park. Generators were providing hotels, stores and other heavily used park facilities with electricity, park spokeswoman Julie Chavez said.

The park will likely remain without an outside source of power for several days until crews can repair a transmission line brought down by the fire after power was cut, said James Guidi, a spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric.

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