Yosemite Fire Claims 12 Homes; More Threatened

MARIPOSA - Hot weather hampered efforts to contain a fast-moving wildfire near an entrance to Yosemite National Park that had already destroyed 12 homes and forced the evacuation of nearly 200 others.The blaze had charred more than 26,000 acres since Friday as wooded slopes ignited amid the hot, dry conditions that have plagued California for months. Besides the homes destroyed, the fire had also engulfed 27 other buildings.

Orange County Firefighters Tyler Johnson, left and Mike Reinhold look at fires burning across the Briceburg mountains along side the Merced River Sunday, July 27, 2008 in Briceburg, Calif. An out-of-control wildfire burning Sunday near an entrance to Yosemite National Park has destroyed eight homes and threatened thousands more as flames forced authorities to cut power to the park. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian) ( Gary Kazanjian )

Officials ordered the evacuations of 195 homes under immediate threat, but some residents defied orders and stayed to protect their property. About 2,000 homes faced at least some danger from the fast-spreading flames, said Wayne Barringer, a state fire spokesman on the scene.

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.

“My house is about 100 yards from some fire right now and that’s freaking me out,” said John Romero, who answered his phone Sunday evening during a break from digging trenches and clearing brush with a little tractor.

Romero said his brother, Tony Romero, has an adjoining property with a 50,000-gallon swimming pool. The brothers planned to pump water from the pool to defend their homes if the fire advanced that far.

West Coast 911 Firefighter News Source: Silicone Valley Mercury News