California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency on Friday in Los Angeles and Monterey counties.
A state of emergency also was declared on Saturday for Mariposa County, where a nearly 14km² fire burned in Yosemite National Park. The blaze was 30 percent contained, park officials said. No structures were threatened.
Park officials closed a campground and a portion of Highway 120, anticipating that the fire would spread north toward Tioga Road, the highest elevation route through the Sierra. The number of firefighters was expected to double over the weekend to 1,000.
Guests and staff at the Yosemite View Lodge and about 100 residents from the town of El Portal were under evacuation orders, said Brad Aborn, chairman of Mariposa’s Board of Supervisors. He said the remainder of the town, an estimated 75 people, were evacuated on Saturday morning.
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