100 Ordered to Evacuate As Blaze Rages Outside Yosemite
- Posted on August 28, 2011 at 7:39pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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About 100 people have been ordered to leave their homes as a wildfire burns outside Yosemite National Park, fire officials said Sunday.
Residents of the community of Rancheria were told to evacuate Saturday, while residents of the nearby communities of Yosemite West, Old El Portal, Incline and Jerseydale have also been told they may have leave their homes.
The blaze, which is burning in a steep and rugged area of thick forests along Highway 140, has also forced the indefinite closure of the roadway. The highway, one of the main entrances into the park, is shut down for nearly a 15-mile stretch from just east of the town of Mariposa to about two miles outside of the park’s entrance.
Park officials are suggesting tourists traveling to Yosemite take Highway 120 or Highway 41 instead. The Tioga Road is also open for visitors entering the park on Highway 395.
Despite the size of the blaze and its proximity to Yosemite, park officials said it was not affecting activities within the park.
“Smoke is not really impacting the valley today,” said Yosemite fire information officer Kass Hardy. News 10 ABC on the fire’s destruction by Saturday:
The blaze, which began Thursday when a motorhome caught fire, was 35 percent contained Sunday. The fire has burned about 4,600 acres, or just over 7 square miles.
About 850 firefighting personnel were on the scene, including helicopter crews that are taking water from the nearby Merced River and dropping it on the flames.
In addition to fires, there have been 17 hiking and climbing related deaths in Yosemite this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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Comments (51)
brian8793
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 4:57amYosemite is definitely some of God’s finest work.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 7:28amFrom these ashes I will Rise
http://youtu.be/8WroRx8vqy8
Report Post »Tusker
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 8:10amBrian, no truer words have been spoken! Been there 3 times, And still can never get enough. Yosemite will remain on my bucket list! lol Hope they get the blaze under control soon for all those folks.
Report Post »conservativewoman
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 1:50amWhile visiting Yosemite a ranger told us that for years they tried keeping fire away from the big Sequioa trees, but no new saplings were springing up. Then a fire came they couldn’t control and it
Report Post »swept through the big trees. Months later there were all kinds of new saplings. Fire was what made the trees drop their seeds! A great example of why we should not try to control nature!
1TrueOne55
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 3:47amI remember learning that in Biology class in 1972… I guess today’s biology revolves around sex education…
Report Post »drhunt
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 10:33amActually…it is the fire that allows the seeds to germinate by breaking through the hard shell. Fire prevention has caused a lot of problems in California, and probably elsewhere. As a former firefighter, I was amazed at the waste in government…it was an eye opening experience.
Report Post »stadylady
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 1:29amMy fiance and I were in Yosemite hiking Nevada Falls just yesterday. We got there at 5pm and it was a little spot on the side of the mountain. By the time we left, 6 hours later, the whole mountain was up in flame.
Report Post »Fina Biscotti
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 5:48amWow – thanks for sharing – but bittersweet – to hear this.
Report Post »LimaBean
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 1:15amIn 2001 our family went camping in Eastern Sierra Nevada Mnts. We had to evacuate due to a forrest fire. We were told we had no time to pack…just get in your car and go. There was only one road out of the valley where we were camping. The fire was coming our way. There was concern that the fire would jump the road. If it did, we were trapped. Cars were flying out of there. As we got closer to the highway we could see flames cresting the hillside. It was both a terrifying and thrilling experience. I would NOT want to do it again. When our daughter was younger, she had used that experience for creative writing assignments. She had been asked if that really happened…guess some thought it was too sensational.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:59amDarn it I was looking, but haven’t found, the article yet on one of the forest fires that was close to my home a few years back. I made the newspaper. The article describes me as “saving the dogs by getting out and leaving my wife to fight the fire”. Ha! hahahah, I had forgot about that. Men, I am proud to represent our gender and set the priorities correctly. I’ll keep looking for the article because it is pretty damn funny.
Report Post »Charb
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:31amOf COURSE this is GLENN BECK’S fault. The AP is blaming this on his news/blog site:
“THE BLAZE, which is burning in a steep and rugged area of thick forests along Highway 140, has also forced the indefinite closure of the roadway.” (Capital letters used for emphasis).
Disgusting.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:05amFires happen every year, so what. They are good for the environment, seriously. The Indians used to burn Yosemite valley frequently and it looked better burned off I think. Before the white man interfered with nature, central california was a big valley filled with smoke all summer long due to lightning caused fires. I like logging too, it thins out the brush so you can actually hike some areas that would be impossible to hike. I live in the forest and I buy fire insurance. In 20 years there’s been 3 fires come within a quarter mile of our house, so what, if it burns down I’ll use the insurance to build a new one.
Report Post »Q-960
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:33amMoral Hazard…
Report Post »GEORGEORGEORGEORGEORGE
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:53pmPut the wet stuff on the red stuff …FUN
Report Post »txsrowdy10
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:14pmWe have been fighting wildfires in Texas for months. The US Forestry Service gets funds depending on how many acres burned. They want more acres of land to burn so they get more money.
We (local firefighters) finally told them to just get out of the way. Local Fire Chiefs no longer hand over command to the US Forestry service. They are only able to enter private property with approval of the land owner, and not one land owner is willing to allow that after the BS they have pulled.
Last fire I had to deal with them on we, in no uncertain terms, told them to get out of the state of Texas in some not so nice terms.
Report Post »skiziks20453
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 3:05amGod bless Texas.
Report Post »Fina Biscotti
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 5:50amGod Bless Texas!
Report Post »Romans828
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 10:08amGod bless Texas.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:14pmME too…God Bless Texas.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:16pmHey…does Yosemite belong to Yosemite Sam’s ranch. He hates rabbits…ya’ know.
Report Post »llotus
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:00pmThe two things that scare me when in the mountains are bears and fires. Cant out run either one of them. Lotus.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:11pmIf that scares you, now consider being chased by a bear on fire.
Report Post »skiziks20453
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 3:06amYou only have to run faster than who ever is with you, with bears that is.
Report Post »cookcountypatriot
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 10:49pmmaybe just maybe an econazi committed arson…just a thought
Report Post »billybe123
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 10:43pmomg! omg! Global Warming Caused this. Ugh! I can hear it now!!
Report Post »NeoFan
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:54pmHaven’t you heard? There is a new study out that claims that global warming is making the surface of the sun hotter.
Report Post »Eisengratz
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 10:43pmI work at one of the airbases in Cali supplying the firefighting planes with retardant, and the difference between how Cal-Fire works and the Feds is astounding – Cal-Fire wants to put the fire out, while the Fed (US Forest Service) method is “Lets Just Manage It.” The Fed folks actually TURNED DOWN air resources on the third day of the fire, as they felt they didn’t need them. Now, it’s past 4000 acres. Good job Fed folks. Another example of how federally funded agencies couldn’t manage their way out of a paper bag.
Report Post »sarcasticus
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:28pmAnd this is the same federal government that people believe can run our national health care industry.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 10:36pmMaybe “the Blaze” should stop “raging” outside Yosemite.
♬Ba dum tish♬
Report Post »neverending
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 10:09pmNovember 2008 was the beginning of the biggest tragedy that ever hit our country and the tragedies just keep right on going. Guess God saw getting obama wasn’t enough of an eye opener so he just keeps trying to get our attention!!
Report Post »fammus1
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 9:38pmCall al Gore! How moch co2 is that thing spewing… there should be a law against this!
Report Post »hogtrashhd
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 9:25pmbetter hope obummer gets involved.. if he‘s betting on something bad or good to happen it won’t.. casinos would love to see him walk through the door..
Report Post »IsSenseCommon
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:52pmIs it just me, or is our government taking this “ordering people out of their houses” too far? I think we should be alerted of the potential danger, but ultimately, do they have the right to kick us out of our homes? Do we have any right to use our own sense and assume our own risks? I am just tired of Big Brother bossing me around because they think they know best. Surely I’m not the only one, right??
Report Post »SoCalWalt
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 9:22pmActually, I agree with you, but there is a huge army of lawyers out there salivating at the opportunity to sue the government because they let people stay in their homes and get injured or killed. Either way, it’s a lose-lose situation.
Report Post »IsSenseCommon
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 12:39pmWalt, I know you’re right about the lawyers. But you used a key-phrase, “…let people stay in their homes…” What the heck have we created?? Frankengovernment, I guess.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:45pmIt use to be that when a fire broke out, friends, neighbors, and strangers would volunteer to help fight the blaze to save life and property…Today with government running the show they don’t even know how to wipe their A$$ much less how to stop a fire!!!!
Report Post »brntout
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:39pmwait for a week,Obama will comment on the obvious
Report Post »retiredlogger
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:26pmLog the timber. create jobs. Replant,create jobs. NO NO NO! Burn it up, kill the wild life, pollutes the air, waste millions of dollars fighting the fire, are you happy now you environmentalists. I hope you tree huggers go and hug all your burned up trees.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:57pmMr Logger Man, entirely too much wisdom in your words.
Report Post »skiziks20453
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 3:12amhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_Fire
big fire here in Oregon in 02. enviro’s wouldnt allow salvage loging.. billions of board feet of wood left to rot.
Report Post »brntout
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:19pm600,000 years have passed and a new eruption is due.Environmentalists have no where to go ,so I say blow your top now and y’all have about 2 hours on the East coast to book it enmass to the Equator, you’ll be fine.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:06pmSigns of birth pains, contractions are getting stronger.
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:33pmYep.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:40pmWhat was the purpose of standing with Israel? Who are we to Glorify?
Report Post »Just in time
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 8:02pmIsn’t this what Al gore was talking about. It’s all man made. We allowed this to happen. Because of bad judgement
Report Post »thetreyman
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 7:51pmthis is what happens when you are not able to clear the undergrowth and dead wood.
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 7:54pmThank you again you ignorant tree hugging environmentalist nut jobs
Report Post »beans bullets and bandaids
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 9:42pmWhen my sister worked at yosemite and lived in el portal a few years ago, a major part of her job was to check for artifacts (she’s an archeologist) and then help with controlled burns of the underbrush, etc. I’m not sure if they still do that, but they used to. My sister is pretty “tree hugger-ish“ but she and her ”tree hugger” coworkers recognized the need to remove undergrowth and would burn areas that hadn’t been burned naturally. I saw loads of controlled burns when I was out there visiting her.
Report Post »neverending
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 10:11pmThat is exactly right!
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