Jul 26, 2008 9:32 pm US/Pacific
Big Fire Near Yosemite; NorCal Firefighter Dies
MIDPINES, Mariposa County (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP / BCN) ―
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A sign displays extreme fire danger.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
California's wildfire troubles are not over just yet.
A growing wildfire burning about 25 miles from Yosemite National Park forced the evacuations of 170 homes on Saturday and was threatening thousands more, fire officials said.
Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the Telegraph Fire grew from about 1,000 acres to around 16,000 acres, or 25 square miles, between Saturday morning and evening.
''Any fire we have this time of year are extremely active,'' Berlant said. ''The erratic behavior is because there is so much fuel out there to burn.''
About 900 firefighters, including crews dispatched from several Bay Area cities, were battling the blaze that burned on both sides of a steep, rugged canyon along the Merced River in Mariposa County.
"The fire has whipped up in the Merced River Canyon. It's in an area which is identified by both federal and state fire fighting experts as having huge potential to burn," said Kenneth Gosting, a Mariposa transportation official. "It's one of the worst areas in the state because the brush is so high, it hasn't burned in so long."
State fire spokeswoman Karen Guillemin said most of the evacuated homes were in the town of Midpines, but that more homes in other small towns are being asked to prepare to leave the area. In all, about 2,000 homes are threatened, officials said.
"Everyone's on pins and needles around here," observed Mariposa County Supervisor Brad Aborn.
Midpines is located along Highway 140, the thoroughfare that leads to the west entrance of Yosemite National Park. Campers on nearby Bureau of Land Management land were also evacuated as a precaution.
Officials set up two phone number for more information: For resident information call 209-966-4784, and for the evacuation hotline call 209-966-1133.
Guillemin said the cause of the fire ''is definitely target shooting,'' but she would not elaborate.
Fire crews on Saturday were being flown into the hard-to-reach area. Crews had to hike several hours to get to the fire because smoke prohibited aircraft from flying in the area.
The fire also forced officials to cut the power grid to Yosemite National Park, and it had not been restored on Saturday evening. Gosting said the entire Yosemite area was smoky, but the park had operated as usual.
Guillemin said the weather was not helpful to firefighters on Saturday, with temperatures over 100 degrees and low humidity. The weather, coupled with a wilderness area filled with tinder dry fuel, has made for an extremely dangerous fire to fight.
''Dozers are trying to push dirt as fast as they can to get safety zones for our firefighters that are out there,'' she said. ''Crews are cutting brush as fast as they can but it's an extremely dangerous situation at this point.''
The California National Guard planned to send two Blackhawk helicopters on Sunday, guard Capt. Al Bosco said.
The helicopters are equipped with 660-gallon water buckets and can carry firefighters and equipment to the fires, he said.
The Blackhawk aircrews are from the Louisiana National Guard and were sent to California to help extinguish the more than 2,000 fires sparked by a massive lightening storm on June 21.
A California-based Fire Hawk helicopter with a 1,000-gallon water tank was also tentatively scheduled to join crews at the Telegraph fire, Bosco said.
Firefighter Killed In Trinity County
In the Shasta-Trinity forest, federal forest officials said an 18-year-old firefighter died after being struck by a tree.
Andrew Jackson Palmer was fatally injured Friday while working on the Eagle Fire near Junction City, about 50 miles west of Redding.
A U.S. Forest spokesman said Palmer died while en route to a Redding hospital on a U.S. Coast Guard medivac helicopter.
Palmer was a firefighter from Olympic National Park based in Port Angeles, Wash.
The Forest Service and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were investigating his death.
The Eagle fire was also one of more than 2,000 fires ignited during the massive lightening storm on June 21. Only about 30 blazes still burned across the state as of Saturday.
Monterey County Evacuations Lifted
Along the central coast, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office lifted all voluntary evacuations and county road closures that were in place due to the Basin Complex Fire.
The evacuations and closures were lifted as of 6 p.m. Friday. However, due to work firefighters were doing where the 162,818-acre fire burned, motorists were advised to continue to use caution while traveling in the area.
The fire, which started June 21 too, was 79 percent contained. Full containment was expected by Wednesday.
During the next several days, firefighters planned to continue to work on containment lines. They also planned to remove trash and equipment, including several miles of hose from the fire line.
Nearly 60 structures were destroyed and about 675 remained threatened. There had been nine injuries so far.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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