Oak Fire updates: ‘Explosive fire behavior’ in Mariposa County destroys structures

THE LATEST: Sunday morning update

EVENING UPDATE: The Oak Fire had now burned 11,900 acres and was 0% contained as of 6:45 p.m. according to Cal Fire.

UPDATE: The Oak Fire had burned about 9,500 acres and was 0% contained as of late Saturday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.

ORIGINAL STORY: The fast-moving Oak Fire in Mariposa County grew more than 2,000 acres overnight, burning an estimated 6,555 acres by Saturday morning after igniting the day before.

Cal Fire said the wildfire was still 0% contained Saturday. The blaze is threatening an estimated 2,000 structures, destroyed 10 and damaged five, Cal Fire reported.

»» MORE ON THE FIRE: Why is California’s Oak Fire spreading so fast? Here are factors experts say are at play

»» SMOKE SPREADS: Fast-moving Oak Fire near Yosemite is belching smoke. Will it choke Fresno area?

Multiple areas are ordered to evacuate, and there are many road closures. Evacuation orders extended from the Jerseydale area in the north to around Bootjack in the south and are listed on the Mariposa County Public Information Map. A number of other residents to the south and west were under a fire advisory, asked to be prepared to leave if necessary.

“Fire activity is extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group torching,” Cal Fire officials said of the Oak Fire. “Emergency personnel are working to safely evacuate people and are actively engaged in protecting structures. Explosive fire behavior is challenging firefighters.”

A huge plume of smoke from the fire could be seen from space.

Evacuation centers are at Mariposa Elementary School, 5044 Jones St., in Mariposa, which is also taking in small animals, and Catheys Valley Charter School. Mariposa Fairgrounds is taking large evacuated animals.

Oak Fire cause still unknown

The fire started about 2:10 p.m. Friday in rural Midpines, about a 20-minute drive from Mariposa and an hour from Yosemite National Park. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

It’s the third wildfire to erupt this month in the Yosemite area. Wawona Road (Highway 41) from Yosemite’s south entrance to Yosemite Valley was scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Saturday after closing due to the Washburn Fire. Yosemite officials said the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and Wawona remain closed.

The Washburn Fire has burned 4,856 acres and is 79% contained, according to Yosemite National Park. And the Agua Fire burned 421 acres and is 100% contained, according to Cal Fire.

People can sign up for emergency alerts from the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office at msoalert.com.

Full containment of the Oak Fire isn’t expected for at least a week. Around 400 personnel were assigned to the Oak Fire as of Saturday morning, including 11 hand crews, four helicopters, 45 fire engines, four bulldozers, and four water tender trucks.

Oak Fire forms pyrocumulus cloud

The fire had grown so big in such a short amount of time that a pyrocumulus cloud formed Friday afternoon and could be seen more than 120 miles away from the Bay Area.

Crystal Kolden, a pyrogeographer and a professor at UC Merced, said the pyrocumulus cloud was a result of smoke rising “until it hits the upper-level winds, stalls, and then suddenly punches through.”

The smoke cloud from the Oak Fire became so big, in fact, it could been seen from outer space via a camera on the NASA international space station.

Kolden, who studies wildfire, added that the Oak Fire was expanding due to three primary factors: fuel load, heat and the very dry air due to a 108-degree day.

The professor said the area hasn’t burned since 1924.

Evacuating with animals

Amid the rush to pack important belongings and other essential items after evacuation orders were issued, many residents in the mountainous areas of Mariposa County also had to quickly game plan how to get their livestock and pets to safety.

Like 61-year-old Sabrina Geforos, whose home on 14 acres of land suddenly was threatened as the Oak Fire spread southward late Friday night.

She had two rescue donkeys that needed to be hauled in a trailer to the Mariposa Fairgrounds, in addition to three goats and two dogs.

“It’s stressful,” Geforos said. “Those rescue donkeys don’t load well. They’d never been in a trailer except once before and they don’t like being in there.”

Geforos and her husband eventually got some assistance from nearby friends to load the donkeys.

But it took 20 minutes.

And then there still was the drive to the fairgrounds.

“When they tell you that you need to evacuate, every minute seems to go by so quickly,” Geforos said. “So 20 minutes feels like you’re spending too much time on that because you know there are other things, too, you got to get before it’s too late.”

As soon as Geforos helped unload the donkeys at the fairgrounds, she rushed back home to put her dogs in crates and load up her goats.

“I can tell you it’s the most dreadful thing,” Geforos said, “to think you’ve left behind your home and you still have your animals there and you don’t know if you get them back.”

Geforos eventually got all of her animals to safety, though she wondered how her animals were handling their new, temporary environment.

“I saw other people arriving in two big horse trailers,” Geforos said. “I believe I saw a llama and some alpaca there. I’m sure my goats are freaking out.

“At least they’re not near the fire.”

Nonetheless, the stress of transporting her animals led to Geforos to forget a few things.

Like her hairbrush and toothbrush.

“When you drive away from your home in a situation like this, you have to say to yourself, ‘Everything else left behind, it’s just stuff,’” Geforos said. “ ’I hate to lose any of it. But it’s just stuff.’

“My animals are saved; my husband and I are safe,” Geforos added. “Now, we pray our house survives and pray people don’t lose their homes.”

Newsom: Feds to provide firefighting funding

California has secured a federal grant that will provide financial assistance in the fight against the Oak Fire, the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Saturday.

The Fire Management Assistance Grant comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FMAG funding, “which is provided through the President’s Disaster Relief Fund on a cost-share basis, will enable local, state and tribal agencies responding to the fire to apply for 75-percent reimbursement of their eligible fire suppression costs,” a news release stated.

“The program, which is administered through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), provides rapid financial assistance to communities impacted by fires.”