In fact, the Oak Fire grew by just four acres from Saturday morning to night, now at 19,244 acres. Containment, meanwhile, has improved by 7% and is now 59% capped. 116 single-family structures were destroyed and 66 outbuildings were destroyed and six structures were damaged. No firefighters were injured. ORIGINAL STORY: Crews battling the Oak Fire in Mariposa County continued to gain ground Saturday on California’s largest blaze this year. Containment was listed at 52 percent in the Saturday morning report by Cal Fire, signaling that half the battle is over. Full containment was expected by August 6. The fire that started a week ago near Yosemite National Park has burned 19,240 acres, 19 more than the Cal Fire report Friday night. On Saturday, fire crews focused on establishing a fire line in a steep area known as Devil’s Gulch. The fire has destroyed 109 houses and 59 outbuildings. Another 585 structures remain under threat. Cal Fire Public Information Officer Remberto Aguirre said that aside from the Devil’s Gulch area, there has been little to no growth in other areas of the fire. “The firefighters are doing a great job,” Aguirre said. Pacific Gas & Electric crews are also working to restore power to more than 3,100 customers affected by the fire. Of those customers who lost power as a result of the fire, 730 remain without. PG&E officials did not have an estimate of when power would be fully restored.
Donate $90,000 to relief efforts
To ease the misery of the fire, PG&E gave $90,000 to two organizations dedicated to helping in the recovery process. The Mariposa Community Foundation received $50,000 to support wildfire relief efforts in the area and help residents displaced by the fire, said Joshua Simes, PG&E’s Central Valley region vice president. The utility also donated $40,000 from the PG&E Red Cross Disaster Holding Fund to the Coastal Red Cross of Northern California to support services for residents affected by the ongoing wildfires in the West. “Many of our colleagues responding to this fire and their families and friends live and work in the Mariposa area. And we all know the impact wildfires have on the communities we serve,” Simes said. Cal Fire officials said there are nearly 4,000 people involved in fighting the blaze. The cost of the battle so far is $34.4 million, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The causes of the fire are being investigated.
Road closures, evacuated and remote areas
Cal Fire lists areas still affected by the wildfire, including these road closures: • Jerseydale Road •Silva Street from Van Ness to Triangle Road is open to residents only, be prepared to show ID .• Darrah Road from Deer Springs to Triangle Road is open to residents only, be prepared to show ID Evacuation orders also remain in effect for the following areas: • Jerseydale Road and all side roads • Sweetwater Ridge/Mine area • Feliciana Mountain Road • Ferguson/Apperson Mine Road area • Savage Lundy Trail • Carter Road Includes all side roads • Hites Cove Road • Footman Ridge area • Devil’s Gulch area Evacuation orders have been lifted for the following areas: ▪ Carstens Road ▪ Triangle Road from Highway 140 to Darrah Street including all side roads ▪ Carter Road ▪ Plumbar Creek Road ▪ Buckingham Mountain Road ▪ Memory lane ▪ Butterfly Ridge Road ▪ Merrill Mill Road
Help with documents
Mariposa County Health and Human Services will host a three-day local help center starting Monday at Mariposa High. The event is for people affected by the Oak Fire who need help replacing important documents that were lost or destroyed. It will also help those who need food and other things. The event is at the gym from 9am to 7pm from August 1-3. The school is located at 5074 Old Highway.
Gofundme for Oak Fire Victims
GoFundMe has created a central hub to help locate all verified fundraisers created for those who lost businesses and homes in the Oak Fire. The Trust & Safety team is looking at fundraising related to the Oak Fire, according to the fundraising website. They are collected in a node. The hub is at gofundme.com/c/act/wildfire-relief/california/central. This story was originally published on July 30, 2022 at 9:42 am. Related stories from the Fresno Bee Robert, a Valley resident, has been with The Fresno Bee since 1994, covering a variety of topics including education, business and agriculture. He currently covers courts.
