MARIPOSA, Calif. (Reuters) - A wildfire that has forced thousands of Californians to flee their homes exploded in size on Wednesday, threatening a picturesque gold rush town outside Yosemite National Park as dozens of blazes scorched the U.S. West.

More than 2,000 firefighters have contained just 7 percent of the Detwiler Fire, which is approaching the town of Mariposa and tiny communities in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Cal Fire state agency said on its website.

The blaze has mushroomed to 48,000 acres (19,424 hectares), an increase of about 23,000 acres (9,307 hectares) compared with the day before. The fire has destroyed 29 structures and is threatening some 1,500 more structures, local media reported.

Firefighters are facing “extreme and aggressive fire behavior” with solid walls of flame and sparks from the main blaze setting spot fires in grasslands, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

Flames have destroyed eight structures southwest of Yosemite National Park and the fire is threatening power lines to the park, but no one has been injured, Cal Fire said.

The small communities of Coulterville and Greeley Hill were ordered evacuated on Wednesday.

Mariposa’s 2,000 residents were told to leave town on Tuesday after its power and water links were damaged. In total, nearly 5,000 people are under orders to vacate their homes, officials said.

Many summer vacationers visit Mariposa, which is largely dependent on tourism.

The town, taking its name from the Spanish word for butterfly, was founded during the California gold rush in the 19th century and is surrounded by pine-covered hillsides. It boasts the state’s oldest law court, built in 1854 in a Greek Revival style and topped with a clock tower.

The town’s hospital, called the John C. Fremont Healthcare District, and its 14 patients did not evacuate, at the advice of fire officials, said the facility’s interim CEO Matthew Matthiessen.

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Moving the mostly elderly patients could endanger their health, he added. “If we can keep them here and limit that stress and they’re safe, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

The California blaze was among 37 active large fires spread across 12 western states as of Wednesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center’s website.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County on Tuesday, dispatching resources to the area.</s>July 20 (Reuters) - A raging wildfire in central California that has forced thousands from their homes spread rapidly on Thursday, threatening a town outside Yosemite National Park, fire officials said.

The so-called Detwiler Fire, which is menacing Mariposa and other communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is only 10 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said on its website.

More than 3,000 firefighters battled that fire that has advanced over 70,096 acres (28,366 hectares), Cal Fire said, an increase of more than 22,000 acres since early Thursday morning.

The Detwiler Fire was threatening some 1,500 structures and power lines supplying electricity to Yosemite National Park, according to Cal Fire. The park remained open to visitors on Thursday.

Mariposa is 50 miles from Yosemite National Park, Cal Fire spokeswoman Shanelle Saunders said, adding that the biggest concern with the park right now was air quality due to heavy smoke. Mariposa's 2,000 residents were told to leave town on Tuesday after its power and water links were damaged. Nearly 5,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes, officials said. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County on Tuesday. The town's hospital and its 14 patients were not evacuated, the facility's interim Chief Executive Matthew Matthiessen said. Low humidity overnight allowed the fire to quickly consume drought-stricken dense areas of shrubs and small trees, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The small communities of Coulterville and Greeley Hill were evacuated on Wednesday. The Detwiler Fire was among 37 large fires across 12 western states as of Wednesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center's website.

The last big wildfire to affect Yosemite National Park was the Rim Fire in August 2013, which became the third-largest wildfire in California's history at the time.

The 257,314 acre (104,131 hectares) Rim Fire scorched parts of the park and surrounding areas for nearly three months before being contained. (Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Cynthia Osterman)</s>The 2,000 residents of a small California town in the foothills flanking Yosemite National Park were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday.

Residents of tiny Mariposa, in the Sierra Nevada mountains southwest of Yosemite, were ordered to flee after flames from the so-called Detwiler Fire jumped over Highway 140.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County on Tuesday as the fire was approaching. The proclamation sends resources to the area.

The fire marched toward the community, threatening 1,500 structures.

Crews continued to battled the out-of-control wildfire that has already destroyed eight structures.

'Fire activity continued to grow throughout the night due to ample fuel, and steep terrain,' the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

A photograph posted on social media showed empty downtown streets as an orange and pink glow from the fire hovered on the horizon.

Downtown Mariposa had its power cut off, according to one reporter on a local Fox affiliate.

Cal Fire said utility lines supplying power to the national park were also in the path of the flames.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on Tuesday ordered evacuations for some residents living southwest of Yosemite National Park.

Calfire spokeswoman DeeDee Garcia says a wildfire burning on steep hills covered by dense grass and forestland threatens roughly 300 structures.

She says the fire is miles from Yosemite, but some roads popular to park visitors are closed.

The blaze is fueled by tall grass, wind and heat. It's threatening at least 1,500 homes.

CalFire says it's also threatening power lines that supply electricity to Yosemite National Park. The park remained open Tuesday.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the blaze near Lake McClure, a reservoir about 50 miles east of Modesto, is 5 percent contained.

The Detwiler Fire broke out on Sunday afternoon and has since blackened 25,000 acres of forest land. It was only about five percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire, and also posed a threat to several other small foothill communities.

There were no immediate details on the structures destroyed or another listed as damaged. Highway 49 was closed in sections except to residents.

'I haven't seen these conditions in a long time, it's a wind-driven, slope-driven, fuel-driven fire,' Jerry Fernandez with Cal Fire told an ABC affiliate in Fresno.

The Detwiler was among more than three dozen major, out-of-control wildfires burning across the US West as windy, dry conditions prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders and red flag warnings in California, Oregon and Nevada.

Flames have charred more than twice as much land in California so far in 2017 compared with the same time last year, according to Cal Fire.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.</s>A wildfire is raging out of control in California, threatening historic gold rush communities and Yosemite National Park. The 2,000 residents of the town of Mariposa, in the Sierra Nevada mountains southwest of Yosemite, were ordered to flee as towering flames approached.

The Detwiler Fire is raging along Highway 49, a historical route winding its way up California foothills of the western Sierra Nevada dotted with communities and landmarks that sprouted up during the state's 1849 gold rush. "The fire encroaches on culturally and historically sensitive areas," Cal Fire said in a status report on Tuesday night.

The blaze is threatening at least 1,500 homes as well as power lines that provide electricity to Yosemite National Park, officials said. The park remained open on Tuesday but several roads frequented by tourists were closed. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County.

"Going to bed unsure whether Mariposa, my sweet hometown, will exist when I wake up," Jennifer Paquette said on Twitter late on Tuesday.

More than 25,000 acres of forest land have been blackened, and the fire was only about five percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire. At least 1,400 firefighters are battling the flames on the ground and from the air.

Although record rain and snowfall in the mountains this winter was celebrated for bringing California's five-year drought to its knees, it has turned into a challenge for firefighters battling flames feeding on dense vegetation, officials said. "There's ample fuel and steep terrain," said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman DeeDee Garcia. "It makes firefighting difficult."

"I haven't seen these conditions in a long time, it's a wind-driven, slope-driven, fuel-driven fire," Jerry Fernandez with Cal Fire told an ABC affiliate in Fresno.

The Detwiler fire is among more than three dozen major, out-of-control wildfires burning across the US West as windy, dry conditions prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders and red flag warnings in California, Oregon and Nevada. Flames have charred more than twice as much land in California so far in 2017 compared with the same time last year, according to Cal Fire.</s>Flames from the Detwiler fire burn on a hill near the John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa, California, July 18, 2017. — Reuters picMARIPOSA, July 19 —A 25,000-acre wildfire in central California, one of three dozen major blazes burning across the US West, threatened hundreds of homes and businesses today after forcing the evacuation of about 5,000 residents.

There were 46 active large fires spread across 12 states, with 11 new blazes reported yesterday alone, according to National Interagency Fire Center website.

Around 4.4 million acres have been burnt since the start of 2017, compared to 2.7 million acres in the same period last year, it said.

Dry and windy conditions have fueled the wildfire season and thousands of people have been evacuated, including in Oregon and Nevada.

Firefighters managed to contain 5 percent of the Detwiler Fire, which threatened 1,500 structures in tiny foothill communities in the Sierra Nevada mountains, authorities said. Around 2,000 residents were ordered to flee Mariposa, California on Tuesday.

“Going to bed unsure whether Mariposa, my sweet hometown, will exist when I wake up,” Jennifer Paquette said on Twitter late on Tuesday.

A total of 5,000 residents were forced to evacuate several small communities southwest of Yosemite National Park since the fire began on Sunday, the California Interagency Incident Management Team said in a tweet.

No injuries were reported as of last night, according to Cal Fire.

Photographs and videos posted on social media showed empty downtown streets in Mariposa and ash falling from the sky as an orange and pink glow hovered on the horizon during dusk last evening.

“It has been terrifying to be honest. I have been crying a lot today,” resident Tarah Eastwood told a CBS affiliate on Tuesday.

At least two of the five area Red Cross evacuation centers were at capacity late on Tuesday, according to social media posts.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County on Tuesday as the fire was approaching. The proclamation sends resources to the area. — Reuters</s>FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on wildfires burning in the west (all times local):

A Yosemite National Park official says Highway 140 into Yosemite Valley from Mariposa is closed as a stubborn wildfire rages several dozen miles from the park.

All other entrances to the park are open.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman says the fire is about 35 miles from Yosemite boundaries at the closest. Gediman says power was out for a while Tuesday night because of the fire, but is back on, and internet and some cellphone coverage is out Wednesday.

Gediman says the park has visitors Wednesday and no big problems because of the fire. The park is recommending that visitors with breathing difficulties consider there may be extra smoke and ash in the air

A stubborn wildfire burning in the rugged mountains outside Yosemite National Park has placed nearly 1,500 structures under threat Wednesday.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that the fire nearly doubled in size overnight and has now scorched roughly 71 square miles (183 square kilometers).

Roughly 5,000 people are under evacuation orders as the fire burns in steep terrain with dense vegetation.

No injuries have been reported, but the fire has destroyed eight structures.

The fire is also threatening powerlines that provide electricity to the park.

This story has been corrected to put the number of structures threatened to 1,500 and to correct the time to 8:15 a.m.

As wildfires rage throughout the western U.S., one California blaze in the rugged mountains outside of Yosemite National Park destroyed eight structures and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee their homes.

As of Tuesday evening, the fire had scorched 39 square miles (101 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze burning since Sunday was making its way to the hills on the edge of Mariposa, a town of about 2,000 people under a mandatory evacuation order.

The Northern California blaze is threatening at least 1,500 homes as well as powerlines that provide electricity to the park, officials said. The park remained open Tuesday but several roads frequented by tourists were closed.</s>A wildfire that drove thousands from their homes near California's Yosemite National Park grew more ferocious Wednesday, roaring through rugged terrain after doubling in size overnight and threatening 1,500 homes.

The fire has burned at least 70 square miles since Sunday, destroying eight buildings, damaging power, water, and communication infrastructure and forcing authorities to close highways near the park.

More than 2,000 people fled the blaze in the town of Mariposa, and Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County.

"Any time you have a fire like this and you have a community like this, it's going to be considered threatened," state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokesman Isaac Sanchez said. "When you add the fact that there are foothills, when you add in the slopes and the grades and the temperatures we are dealing with, the humidities we are dealing with, it's a full-on challenge."

Yosemite remained open, but some access roads were closed and the fire caused smoky conditions throughout much of the 1,169 square-mile park, officials said. The fire was 7% contained early Wednesday.

"Firefighters experienced extreme and aggressive fire behavior," Cal Fire said in its incident information, adding that the blaze it has dubbed the Detwiler Fire "encroaches on culturally and historically sensitive areas."

Mariposa Lodge Owner Mia Gloor told the local ABC-TV affiliate she was watching the flames and hoping the fire would not envelop her family business.

"Everybody is scared, you'd never think something like this would happen in your town," she said.

Years of drought were blamed for a series of massive fires in recent years that raced through California's kindling-dry forests. More recently, months of snow and rain have presented a new problem — thick vegetation to feed flames. Steep terrain, high winds and blazing heat have added to the issues facing more than 1,400 firefighters battling the blaze.

"I can't emphasize enough how active and erratic this fire activity is," Mariposa County Sheriff Doug Binnewies said. "It's done stuff that we haven't seen before."</s>MARIPOSA, Calif. (Reuters) - A 25,000-acre wildfire in central California, one of three dozen major blazes burning across the West, threatened hundreds of homes and businesses on Wednesday after forcing the evacuation of about 5,000 residents.

There were 46 active large fires spread across 12 states, with 11 new blazes reported on Tuesday alone, according to National Interagency Fire Center website.

Around 4.4 million acres have been burnt since the start of 2017, compared to 2.7 million acres in the same period last year, it said.

Dry and windy conditions have fueled the wildfire season and thousands of people have been evacuated, including in Oregon and Nevada.

Firefighters managed to contain 5 percent of the Detwiler Fire, which threatened 1,500 structures in tiny foothill communities in the Sierra Nevada mountains, authorities said. Around 2,000 residents were ordered to flee Mariposa, California, on Tuesday.

A total of 5,000 residents were forced to evacuate several small communities southwest of Yosemite National Park since the fire began on Sunday, the California Interagency Incident Management Team said.

No injuries were reported as of Tuesday night, according to Cal Fire.

Photographs and videos posted on social media showed empty downtown streets in Mariposa and ash falling from the sky as an orange and pink glow hovered on the horizon during dusk on Tuesday evening.

At least two of the five area Red Cross evacuation centers were at capacity late on Tuesday, according to social media posts.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County on Tuesday as the fire was approaching. The proclamation sends resources to the area.</s>The Latest on wildfires burning in the west (all times local):

California fire officials say they expect Yosemite National Park will escape a growing wildfire to the west of the park.

More than 2,200 firefighters on Wednesday were fighting the wildfire, which is about 35 miles west of Yosemite at the closest. The fire has nearly doubled in size in a day, to more than 70 square miles (180 square kilometers).

Authorities have closed one of several roads into Yosemite. Park spokesman Scott Gediman says Yosemite is warning visitors with breathing problems to be aware of smoky haze wafting into Yosemite Valley from the fire.

California fire spokesman Jordan Motta says the wildfire is currently moving south, away from Yosemite. The evacuated Gold Rush-era town of Mariposa is almost empty of all but emergency crews, as fire spreads on ridges near that community.

A Yosemite National Park official says Highway 140 into Yosemite Valley from Mariposa is closed as a stubborn wildfire rages several dozen miles from the park.

All other entrances to the park are open.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman says the fire is about 35 miles from Yosemite boundaries at the closest. Gediman says power was out for a while Tuesday night because of the fire, but is back on, and internet and some cellphone coverage is out Wednesday.

Gediman says the park has visitors Wednesday and no big problems because of the fire. The park is recommending that visitors with breathing difficulties consider there may be extra smoke and ash in the air

A stubborn wildfire burning in the rugged mountains outside Yosemite National Park has placed nearly 1,500 structures under threat Wednesday.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that the fire nearly doubled in size overnight and has now scorched roughly 71 square miles (183 square kilometers).

Roughly 5,000 people are under evacuation orders as the fire burns in steep terrain with dense vegetation.

No injuries have been reported, but the fire has destroyed eight structures.

The fire is also threatening powerlines that provide electricity to the park.

This story has been corrected to put the number of structures threatened to 1,500 and to correct the time to 8:15 a.m.

As wildfires rage throughout the western U.S., one California blaze in the rugged mountains outside of Yosemite National Park destroyed eight structures and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee their homes.

As of Tuesday evening, the fire had scorched 39 square miles (101 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze burning since Sunday was making its way to the hills on the edge of Mariposa, a town of about 2,000 people under a mandatory evacuation order.

The Northern California blaze is threatening at least 1,500 homes as well as powerlines that provide electricity to the park, officials said. The park remained open Tuesday but several roads frequented by tourists were closed.</s>A United States Forest Service firefighter keeps a close eye on flames during a back fire operation on the Whittier fire near Bee Rock off Hwy 154 near Santa Barbara, California, July 16, 2017. — Reuters pic MARIPOSA (California), July 19 — The 2,000 residents of a small California town in the foothills flanking Yosemite National Park were ordered to evacuate yesterday as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire that has already destroyed eight structures.

Residents of tiny Mariposa, in the Sierra Nevada mountains southwest of Yosemite in central California, were ordered to flee after flames from the so-called Detwiler Fire jumped over Highway 140 and marched toward the community, threatening 1,500 structures.

“Fire activity continued to grow throughout the night due to ample fuel, and steep terrain,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said on its tracking website.

A photograph posted on social media showed empty downtown streets as an orange and pink glow from the fire hovered on the horizon. Downtown Mariposa had its power cut off, according to one reporter on a local Fox affiliate.

Cal Fire said utility lines supplying power to the national park were also in the path of the flames.

The Detwiler Fire, which broke out on Sunday afternoon and has since blackened 25,000 acres of forest land, was only about five percent contained as of yesterday afternoon, according to Cal Fire, and also posed a threat to several other small foothill communities.

There were no immediate details on the structure destroyed or another listed as damaged. Highway 49 was closed in sections except to residents.

“I haven’t seen these conditions in a long time, it’s a wind-driven, slope-driven, fuel-driven fire,” Jerry Fernandez with Cal Fire told an ABC affiliate in Fresno.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County yesterday as the fire was approaching. The proclamation sends resources to the area.

The Detwiler was among more than three dozen major, out-of-control wildfires burning across the U.S. West as windy, dry conditions prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders and red flag warnings in California, Oregon and Nevada.

Flames have charred more than twice as much land in California so far in 2017 compared with the same time last year, according to Cal Fire. — Reuters
Thousands of residents are evacuated from Mariposa and several other communities in Mariposa County, California, following the rapid spread of the Detwiler Fire near Yosemite National Park.