PLYMOUTH, Calif. (AP) – Wildfires burning near Northern California vineyards and in the Yosemite National Park area were threatening hundreds of homes even as crews worked to contain them.
The Sand Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento was 50 percent surrounded as of late Sunday, after burning 13 homes and 38 outbuildings. It has scorched roughly 6 square miles of rugged grassland and timber near wine-growing regions in Amador and El Dorado counties.
While crews significantly enlarged the area they had corralled Sunday, “the steep, dry terrain continues to be a challenge” and about 515 homes remain threatened and under evacuation orders, according to a statement the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire started Friday when a vehicle drove over vegetation that is tinder-dry from years of drought.
About 1,900 firefighters, aided by aircraft including a DC-10 air tanker, were working to control the blaze.