The blaze tore through 14,281 acres across Mariposa County and it remained 0% contained as of shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday, according to Cal Fire.
Nearly 2,000 structures remained threatened, leaving about a third of the county’s residents under evacuation as flames barreled through tinder-dry landscape weakened by years of severe drought.
“The real problem here is now with meteorological conditions, its’ with the amount of fuel from the pine beetle kill,” said Barlow, adding that a severe wind event earlier this year knocked down many dead or weakened trees. “There’s a lot of dead fuel and that’s what’s allowing this explosive type of fire behavior.”
The fire ignited Friday afternoon near State Route 140 and Carstens Road in the largely rural Midpines region of Mariposa County. But fueled by drought-stricken trees,
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