Detwiler Fire Latest: Evacuation Orders Lifted For Town Of Mariposa; Fire Engine Involved In Accident
MARIPOSA (AP) - The latest on the wildfire burning in Mariposa County:
11:55 a.m.
Evacuations orders for the town Mariposa have been lifted, Cal Fire announced late Friday morning.
The historic mining town had been basically completely evacuated due to the Detwiler Fire.
Other evacuation orders are still in effect for other areas. Head here for the latest information.
Cal Fire also says that at some point Friday morning, a fire engine helping battle the Detwiler Fire was involved in an accident.The accident happened near the Mount Bullion area, Cal Fire says.
The fire engine was apparently driving on a tight, winding road on its way back to base when it struck the stump of a tree on the edge of a road. It lost control, veering into a field. Fellow medics provided first aid.
One firefighter was injured in the accident and was taken to a hospital in Fresno, officials say. The firefighter is said to be in good spirits and only suffered minor injuries.
8:25 a.m.
Authorities say a stubborn wildfire burning in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California has destroyed 58 homes.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday the fire grew slightly overnight to 115 square miles (298 square kilometers) and threatens at least 1,500 homes.
Firefighters are racing to control the blaze before it reaches the Gold-Rush era town of Mariposa.
The fire is 15 percent contained.
More than 3,800 firefighters are battling the blaze that has forced almost 5,000 people from homes in and around a half-dozen small communities.
2:15 a.m.
The town of Mariposa, with its century-old saloons and covered sidewalks, normally bustles with summer visitors on their way to Yosemite National Park but the Gold Rush-era hamlet was mostly empty as ash rained down and heavy smoke from a nearby blaze darkened the sky.
The blaze in the Sierra Nevada foothills threatened hundreds of homes and historic buildings, including a wood courthouse founded in 1854 and touted as the oldest active courthouse west of the Rocky Mountains.
The fire did not grow as significantly Thursday as it had earlier in the week, but state fire officials revealed late in the day that 99 structures have now been destroyed, 50 of them homes. Eleven homes and five other structures have been damaged. The wildfire has scorched 110 square miles (282 square kilometers), threatening at least 1,500 homes.
