Yosemite area wildfire destroys two homes and sends tourists, residents packing. Although officials haven't closed Yosemite, wildfire has forced the closing of one of three entrances to the national park.
The Rim Fire, seen here burning near Yosemite National Park, Calif., more than tripled in size over one night and still threatens about 2,500 homes, hotels, and camp buildings. Fire officials said the Yosemite wildfire has grown to more than 99 square miles and was only 1 percent contained on Thursday, down from 5 percent a day earlier.
U.S. Forest Service/AP
EnlargeA wildfire outside?Yosemite?National Park nearly quadrupled in size Thursday, prompting officers to warn residents in a gated community to evacuate their homes and leading scores of tourists to leave the area during peak season.
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California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency due to the huge fire, one of several blazes burning in or near the nation's national parks and one of 50 major uncontained fires burning across the western U.S.
As flames approached an area of Pine Mountain Lake with 268 homes in the afternoon, deputies went door-to-door to deliver the news and to urge people to leave, Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Scott Johnson said.
The evacuations are not mandatory, although Johnson stressed that the fire, smoke and the potential for power outages pose imminent threats.
"We aren't going to drag you out of our house, but when we are standing in front of you telling you it's an advisory, it's time to go," he said.
Fire officials said the blaze, which started Saturday, had grown to more than 99 square miles and was only 1 percent contained Thursday, down from 5 percent a day earlier. Two homes and seven outbuildings have been destroyed.
While the park remains open, the blaze has caused the closure of a 4-mile stretch of State Route 120, one of three entrances into?Yosemite?on the west side, devastating areas that live off of park-fueled tourism.
Officials also have advised voluntary evacuations of more than a thousand other homes, several organized camps and at least two campgrounds. More homes, businesses and hotels are threatened in nearby Groveland, a community of 600 about 5 miles from the fire and 25 miles from the entrance of?Yosemite.
"Usually during summer, it's swamped with tourists, you can't find parking downtown," said Christina Wilkinson, who runs Groveland's social media pages and lives in Pine Mountain Lake. "Now, the streets are empty. All we see is firefighters, emergency personnel and fire trucks."
Though Wilkinson said she and her husband are staying put ? for now ? many area businesses have closed and people who had vacation rental homes are cancelling plans, local business owners said.
"This fire, it's killing our financial picture," said Corinna Loh, whose family owns the still-open Iron Door Saloon and Grill in Groveland. "This is our high season and it has gone to nothing, we're really hurting."
Loh said most of her employees have left town. And the family's Spinning Wheel Ranch, where they rent cabins to tourists, has also been evacuated because it's directly in the line of fire. Two outbuildings have burned at the ranch, Loh said, and she still has no word whether the house and cabins survived.
"We're all just standing on eggshells, waiting," Loh said.
The governor's emergency declaration finding "conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property" frees up funds and firefighting resources and helps Tuolumne County in seeking federal disaster relief.
Park officials said the fire has not impacted the park itself, which can still be accessed via state Routes 140 and 41 from the west, as well as State Route 120 from the east side.
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