California: A fast-moving brush fire near Yosemite National Park exploded in size on Saturday into one of California’s largest wildfires of the year, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people and shutting power to more than 2,000 homes and businesses.

The Oak Fire erupted on Friday in Mariposa County, near the small town of Midpines. 12 miles east, firefighters made progress against the Washburn Fire near Yosemite that threatened the park's largest and most iconic sequoia grove.

The Washburn Fire is 80% contained after two weeks of firefighting, but the Oak Fire remains 0% contained as of Sunday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.

The 2,000 firefighters battling the blaze will encounter tough conditions including low humidity, high temperatures and steep terrain, Cal Fire said. The agency also dispatched 17 helicopters, 225 fire engines, 58 dozers and 23 water tenders to fight the Oak Fire.

Since the Oak Fire began on Friday, it has exploded in size to more than 15,600 acres, destroying at least 10 residential and commercial structures and damaging five others, state fire officials said. More than 3,200 structures are threatened by the flames, which remain zero percent contained, though authorities said they are making headway.
“It’s hot out there again today,” Cal Fire spokesperson Natasha Fouts said Sunday. “And the fuel moisture levels are critically low.”

Light winds were blowing embers ahead into tree branches “and because it’s so dry, it’s easy for the spot fires to get established and that’s what fuels the growth,” Fouts said.
By Sunday afternoon, the blaze had destroyed 10 residential and commercial structures and damaged five, according to Cal Fire. Pacific Gas & Electric said on its website that more than 3,100 homes and businesses in the area had lost power, with no indication when it would be restored.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Mariposa County because of the fire, and over 6,000 people in the remote Sierra Nevada foothills were evacuated. A handful of residents defied the orders and stayed behind, said Adrienne Freeman with the U.S. Forest Service. 

Numerous roads were closed, including a stretch of State Route 140 that’s one of the main routes into Yosemite.

California has experienced increasingly larger and deadlier wildfires in recent years as climate change has made the West much warmer and drier over the past 30 years. Scientists have said the weather will continue to be more extreme and wildfires more frequent, destructive and unpredictable.