The wildfire that scared the community near Yosemite National Park is finally calming down, thanks to the effort put in by the firefighters. More than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes and some of them have now returned.
John Anderson, Madera County Sheriff, gave a statement on Tuesday, in which he said that the crews managed to contain 35% of the fire thanks to higher air humidity and lower wind speeds. He added: We’re not seeing the fire expand like we thought.
Nearly 1 square mile was burned by the fire in the foothills near Yosemite National Park. In that area, eight structures were destroyed and the officials who revised damage say that the fire spanned about twice as much ground.
The fire started on Monday near a small community of several thousand, Oakhurst. It is located at about 16 miles from the Yosemite National Park entrance. The location of the fire forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate their homes and thousands more to prepare for an immediate evacuations.
Due to the California fire calming down, several residents were allowed to return to their homes. Erica Stuart, sheriff’s spokesperson, could not be say exactly how many people returned home.
Yosemite National Park was unaffected by the fire, but a road that leads visitors to the park was reopened yesterday.
Clement Williams, 67, and his wife Gretchen, 63, both Oakhurst residents, had to spend the night at a nearby hotel. They were hoping they would get information about their home and the fire from officials. They said that they had braced for the worst:
There is nothing you can do when a fire is raging. You just have to flee. It’s a real sinking feeling.
The fire got so close to the city of Oakhurst that the businesses downtown had to be closed down. The blaze was burning 1 mile away from the city, which filled the city with smoke.
It is California’s third year of drought, which created tinder-dry conditions that have increased the fire danger in the state.
What are your thoughts on the wildfire near Yosemite National Park? Do you live near the area? Were you forced to leave your home? Do you know someone who had to leave their home because of the fire? Share your comments with us in the section below. We love hearing from our readers.