Agua Fire near Yosemite threatens structures, causes evacuations

Dozens of structures are threatened and one of the main routes into Yosemite National Park is closed by a wildfire in Mariposa County started with an automobile crash Monday afternoon.

The Agua Fire is estimated at about 343 acres, Cal Fire information officer Jaime Williams said Tuesday. Containment grew from about 10% on Monday night to about 20% by Tuesday morning.

“The crews did an excellent job (Monday) and throughout the evening,” Williams said. “Today is going to be all about reinforcing the lines.”

The fire began shortly after 1 p.m. Monday along Highway 140 west of Mariposa when a vehicle went off the roadway and crashed, investigators said. Highway 140, one of three main routes from the San Joaquin Valley into Yosemite National Park, has been closed between Agua Fria Road and Bumgardner Road west of the mountain town of Mariposa.

Travelers heading to Yosemite National Park can still reach Highway 140 via Highway 49 to Mariposa.

From where the fire started along Highway 140 near Agua Fria Road, the wildfire has grown primarily to the east. A Cal Fire map issued early Tuesday shows the fire’s eastern perimeter creeping to within about a mile of Mariposa.

“It’s burning in brushy oak woodland, and some of the area is extremely rocky and steep,” Williams said. “We’re heading into the summer months under extreme drought conditions, so the vegetation is very receptive to spot fires and new starts.”

More than 170 firefighters are assigned to the Agua Fire, including 31 engine crews and three water tenders, two helicopters, three bulldozers and four hand crews.

Evacuation orders issued Monday afternoon remained in place Tuesday morning for areas along Agua Fria Road, Gold Leaf Road, Yaqui Gulch Road, Paso del Oso Road, Oak Canyon Drive, and Bumgardner Road from Highway 140 to the top of a hill at the edge of Mariposa.

“We do still have some fire activity within the (fire’s) perimeter, where there is heavy vegetation that continues to burn,” Williams said.

No estimate has been made as to when Highway 140 may reopen or when residents in evacuated areas can return to their homes. To date, no structures have been damaged or destroyed, and no injuries have been reported among firefighters or civilians.

An inversion layer Tuesday morning was keeping smoke from the fire settled into lower areas in the mountain areas near Mariposa, Williams said. When that weather lid lifts in the afternoons, smoke rises higher in the sky. Smoke in the mountains was already a concern because of the Washburn Fire, which has burned in nearby Yosemite National Park since July 7.