MIDPINES, Calif. — An out-of-control wildfire burning Sunday near an entrance to Yosemite National Park destroyed 12 homes and threatened thousands more as flames forced authorities to cut power to the park.
The blaze has charred more than 26,000 acres since Friday as wooded slopes ignited amid hot, dry conditions. The fire was 16 percent contained Sunday afternoon.
The wildfire led officials to order the evacuations of 195 homes under immediate threat. About 2,000 homes faced at least some danger from the fast-spreading flames, according to fire officials. Besides the 12 homes, the fire had engulfed 27 other buildings.
A state fire spokeswoman said the blaze was sparked by someone target shooting.
About 2,000 firefighters were battling the blaze and hundreds more were headed to the scene along the Merced River west of Yosemite.
Most of the evacuated homes are in the town of Midpines, about 12 miles from the park. The southern edge of the blaze was as little as two miles from Mariposa, a town of about 1,800 residents.
Many visitors pass through Mariposa en route to the western entrance of Yosemite, known as the Arch Rock entrance.
The town of Briceburg is also in danger.
The response to the fire is so rapid and fluid, firefighters “don’t even check in,” said Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Gary Mosely. “They just get sent straight to the fireline.”
To protect firefighters battling flames beneath power lines, electricity was cut to a wide area, including the national park.
The fire had not spread inside the boundaries of the national park, said Julie Chavez, a park interpreter. Visibility inside the park was reduced and air quality had suffered, she said, but the park was open and almost all visitor facilities were running, with generators providing power as needed.
Nearby fire shuts Los Angeles Zoo
In Southern California, visitors were evacuated today from the Los Angeles Zoo as a fast-moving brush fire burned nearby in Griffith Park.
Flames came within about 1,000 feet of a California condor enclosure in the park, forcing the relocation of the condors and two vultures, a zoo spokesman said.
The fire was contained later Sunday.
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