Firefighters slow growth of California blaze near Yosemite

JERSEYDALE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters have significantly slowed the spread of a huge wildfire burning in a forest near Yosemite National Park, where thousands of residents from mountain communities were still under evacuation orders Monday and smoke was spreading for hundreds of miles around.

Crews “made good headway” against the Oak Fire, according to a Sunday night incident report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. “Fire activity was not as extreme as it has been in previous days.”

But smoke from the fire drifted more than 200 miles (322 kilometers), reaching Lake Tahoe, parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.

“It’s been just horrendous with the air quality,” said Kim Zagaris, an advisor with the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which maps wildfires across the country.

More than 2,500 firefighters with aircraft support were battling the blaze that erupted last Friday southwest of the park, near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County. Officials described “explosive fire behavior” on Saturday as flames made runs through bone-dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades.

By Monday morning, the blaze had consumed more than 26 square miles (67 square kilometers) of forest land, with 10% containment, Cal Fire said. The cause was under investigation.

Firefighters working in steep terrain on the ground protected homes on Sunday as air tankers dropped retardant on 50-foot (15-meter) flames racing along ridgetops east of the tiny community of Jerseydale. Personnel face tough conditions that include steep terrain, sweltering temperatures and low humidity, Cal Fire said.

There are two major blazes burning in California, which is experiencing a fairly typical ramp-up to what is sure to be an active fire...