The fire broke out near the famous Yosemite National Park. It has already become the biggest Californian wildfire of the season, as evidenced by the impressive photos taken on site.
It is called “Oak Fire”. This fire “explosive” continues to spread at an ever-increasing rate “very fast”, Tuesday, July 26, in central California (United States), near Yosemite National Park. More than 2,500 firefighters supported by 17 helicopters are fighting the fire, which broke out on Friday near the small town of Midpines and has already covered some 7,000 hectares of vegetation, according to the latest report available Monday evening.
This fire has already become the largest California wildfire of the season. “It is moving very quickly and the reaction window to evacuate people is limited”explained on the CNN channel (in English) Jon Heggie, a California firefighter official. According to him, the speed of progression and the behavior of this fire are “truly unprecedented”. LFirefighters work tirelessly “using bulldozers, manual teams and aircraft”said Cal Fire, the department responsible for managing fires in the state of California.
The fire threatens a few thousand homes in small rural towns in Mariposa County, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, where several thousand people are under evacuation orders. “It’s a direct result of climate change”said the fire chief.