Washburn Fire near Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove now nearly 1,600 acres, smoke will drift west
The Washburn Fire burning near Yosemite National Park’s famed Mariposa Grove grew slightly to nearly 1,600 acres while continuing to threaten the park’s largest stand of sequoia trees and one of its most popular tourist attractions.
The blaze, which sparked Thursday near the grove’s Washburn Trail, has burned 1,591 acres in and around the Mariposa Grove — an increase of nearly 200 acres since Saturday, according to an InciWeb update from fire officials on Sunday morning. As of Sunday morning, none of the well-known giant sequoias in the area had burned, despite flames nearing multiple well-known trails in the area, said Scott Gediman, a Yosemite National Park spokesman.
The fire has choked much of the nearby Sierra Nevada with smoke while leaving off-limits one of the most popular — and historically significant — areas of the park. The town of Wawona and the Wawona Campground remain under evacuation, and officials have given no timeline for when visitors may be able to return.
The fire remains 0% contained. Highway 41 remains closed from the park’s southern entrance to Yosemite West. At the Yosemite Village Visitor Center late Sunday morning, smoke was causing an air quality index of 271, considered “very unhealthy” according to the California Air Resources Board.
“The concern is around the fire – to the north, between the Mariposa Grove and Wawona,” said Gediman, noting that several spot fires in the area have kept crews busy. “The giant sequoias, we’re certainly concerned about them. But with all the prep work, with all the prescribed burns and with all of the work in thinning, we’re feeing really good about that.”
About 500 personnel have been assigned to battle the blaze, an increase of about 300 people since Friday night.
Light easterly flow today will take smoke from the #WashburnFire westward (Sorry @NWSSacramento and @NWSHanford ). Thanks to all those on the frontlines helping to fight this fire!
If you would like to view the latest HRRR smoke imagery: https://t.co/j0NYkxfhwk pic.twitter.com/ARyyLLKdvx
— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) July 10, 2022
The latest map of the fire area appears to show the grove’s main trailhead alongside — or just inside — the fire boundary, along with a few trails in the area. Still, no structures have been damaged, Gediman said, and other areas of the grove appear to have been spared.
The blaze appears to have burned to the west and north of the vast majority of the grove’s Grizzly Giant Loop and its Guardians of the Grove loop — two popular hiking trails that feature some of the most heavily-visited sequoias in the Sierra Nevada, including Bachelor & Three Graces and the hulking Grizzly Giant.
Gediman credited multiple prescribed burns from 2016 to 2018 for helping to keep the flames from impacting the many well-known giant sequoias in the area. The Mariposa Grove is the park’s largest collection of giant sequoias, with about 500 in the area.
The cause of the blaze, which sparked Thursday near the grove’s Washburn Trail, remains under investigation. The latest fire map, which is current as of 10 p.m. Saturday, shows the fire remaining just south of the Merced River.
About 700 people have been evacuated from Wawona, the nearby Wawona Campground and the roughly 75 private cabins and homes in the area, Gediman said. That area, which is north of the blaze, remains high on the list of fire officials’ concerns. It’s home to the Victorian-style Wawona Hotel, which was originally built in the 1870s, making it the park’s oldest hotel.
The blaze left property owners in the area anxiously waiting to see if firefighters could keep the encroaching flames from overtaking their cabins.
Kyle Van Leeuwen, of Los Angeles, was visiting his cabin northeast of the historic Wawona Hotel with his family on Thursday when the first puffs of smoke rose from the Mariposa Grove.
By Friday morning, Leeuwen saw smoke billowing up from a nearby ridge and a helicopter scooping up water from a nearby swimming hole. He decided to pack up that afternoon, after he got a better view of the fire from a couple miles away while visiting the Pine Tree Market.
“I saw one of the big trees light up,” said Leeuwen, 44, who was with his wife and three daughters. “Saw it spark and catch like a little matchstick.”
At about 4 p.m. Friday, Leeuwen and his family fled the area – a drive that took eight hours, due to several road closures. On Sunday morning, he held out hope that his cabin would be spared.
“For now, fingers crossed,” he said.
Weather conditions are expected to remain relatively calm Sunday for firefighters battling the blaze, through increasing heat over the next several days could complicate efforts to contain the fire, said Jeff Barlow, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Temperatures in the area are expected to be in the mid-80s on Sunday – roughly average for this time of year, Barlow said. However, they could reach into the 90s on Monday and Tuesday.
Still, winds are expected to remain fairly calm, and humidity levels have been relatively high overnight, he said. On Saturday night, for example, relative humidity levels reached 77% in the area, and they are expected to remain above 30% Sunday.
“Winds are basically terrain-driven – they’re generally light and variable overnight,” Barlow said. “And they get a little gusty in the afternoon, with the upslope conditions. But we really don’t have any large-scale weather fronts or anything that’s going to cause these winds to become strong and dangerous.”
“It’s the fuel – the fuel is super dry. That’s the problem,” Barlow added.
Check back for more updates as this story develops.
California wildfire and power safety shutdown tips
-
- California wildfire season survival guide: How to prepare for fire and smoke
- Wildfire evacuation checklist: Here’s what you need to pack before you must leave
- Map of California wildfires now burning
- Wildfire smoke risk: 10 questions answered
- Find the Bay Area smoke index in your Bay Area city
- Ready for a public safety power outage? 5 things you probably forgot to do
- How to check if your home will lose power during PG&E public safety blackouts
- Latest California fire updates and earlier stories
- California wildfire season survival guide: How to prepare for fire and smoke