Firefighters slow growth of Oak Fire in Mariposa County; containment at 16%

MIDPINES, Mariposa County -- Firefighters continued to make progress Monday on containing the Oak Fire burning near Yosemite National Park, limiting its growth to just a few hundred acres.

As of Monday evening, Cal Fire said the wildfire was 16% contained and had burned 17,241 acres -- only 450 more acres than what reportedly burned by Monday morning. The incident is still the state's largest wildfire this year.  Helicopters dropped 300,000 gallons of water on the fire as crews continued to strengthen control lines and extinguish hot spots along the perimeter of the blaze as it moved in a northeast direction.  

Fire officials also updated the damage toll from the fire, confirming that at least 21 homes and 34 other structures have been destroyed. Thousands of residents remain under evacuation orders, though some of those orders were reduced to fire advisements. 

Cal Fire officials were also projecting that the fire would be contained later this week by July 30. Additional information is available on the Cal Fire incident page.

The Oak Fire began Friday afternoon in the area of state Highway 140 and Carstens Road near the Sierra foothills community of Midpines in Mariposa County. It was burning about 15 miles west of the Washburn Fire in Yosemite, which as of Monday had burned about 4,900 acres and was 87% contained.

Cal Fire said the Oak Fire activity on Monday was not as extreme as it has been in previous days. On the north side, the wildfire passed Sweetwater Ridge approaching the community of Mariposa Pines where firefighters held the line at Bear Clover Lane. Crews also were strengthening the fire line around the community of Lushmeadows in the northeastern edge of the fire.

Cal Fire damage inspection teams began surveying the Oak Fire burn areas Monday. Among the structures burned was the home of newlyweds Steve and Andrea Ward. The couple found out they had lost their home after seeing it burning on the news.

"She's looking over my shoulder and this home that we had just got married at two weeks ago, it explodes and you're looking at it on a mobile phone," said Steve Ward.

Some 2,000 firefighters have been working in steep terrain and triple-digit temperatures while battling the Oak Fire, including fire crews from Alameda and Sonoma counties. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Mariposa County, citing "conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property."

In recent years, California and other parts of the Western United States have been ravaged by huge and fast-moving wildfires, driven by years of drought and a warming climate.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District Monday extended an air quality advisory through Wednesday, saying smoke from the Oak Fire will drift into Bay Area skies for the next few days.  

The northeastern fire perimeter was moving into the Ferguson Fire burn scar, Cal Fire said Monday. The 2018 wildfire burned nearly 100,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park. Two firefighters were killed and 19 others were injured in that wildfire.

Road closures in effect because of the Oak Fire included a stretch of state Route 140, Forest Road, and Anzar Road between Cole Road and Cannon Road.   

On Sunday, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office issued a warning against looters and fraudsters seeking to take advantage of people displaced by the fire.