MARIPOSA, Calif. (AP) – A blaze burning in foothills west of Yosemite National Park destroyed dozens of structures and forced thousands to flee Gold Rush-era towns but fire crews have been able to stop it from reaching a threatened community on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
The fire was threatening about 1,500 homes and other buildings, after already destroying 29 structures. It’s not clear what type of buildings burned. The flames are near Highway 49, a historical route winding its way up California foothills of the western Sierra Nevada dotted with little towns that sprouted along the gold Mother Lode that drew miners to California in the 1800s.
More than 3,000 firefighters are battling the 4-day-old blaze that has scorched 75 square miles (194 square kilometers), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
The fire has forced almost 5,000 people from homes in and around a half-dozen small communities, officials said.
Heavy smoke hung in the air over Mariposa, a town of 2,000 with century-old wooden buildings, including what’s touted as the oldest active courthouse west of the Rocky Mountains.