Some of the 1,100 residents who were forced to evacuate were allowed to return home Friday afternoon. Also on Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the second infusion of funding California has received this week for wildfire response efforts.
The French Fire is the latest blaze to break out in California in the midst of a particularly dangerous fire season. This week alone, 23 fires have burned across the state, leading some towns to cancel Fourth of July fireworks. Most of the active fires are at least 50% contained, and no deaths have been reported.
Firefighters were able to contain the spread of the French Fire overnight as winds died down. Firefighters are currently concentrating on the east side of the fire after hull dozers and firefighters laid tracks on that side of Mariposa. A church has been designated a temporary evacuation site. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The fire closed a 1.6-mile section of State Highway 140, one of the main access roads into Yosemite, but it reopened Friday afternoon as firefighters made progress.
Cal Fire has also been working hard recently to contain the Thompson Fire in Northern California’s Butte County, where temperatures are expected to reach 114 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday. The fire has grown to 3,789 acres and was 46% contained as of Friday morning. The city of Oroville, home to about 20,000 people, was not spared, with 25 structures destroyed by the blaze. Two firefighters were also injured.
Cal Fire has added 200 additional personnel to the Thompson Fire, bringing the total to 2,219 personnel working to fight the fire, which involves physically putting out or removing burning material to make it harder for the fire to escape, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Thompson Fire spokesman Alejandro Chorico said the goal is to have the fire “ended” by July 15.
“The situation is very good. We are continuing our mop-up operations and our personnel are working hard in conjunction with the operators to continue containment,” he said.
He added that firefighters use work-rest cycles to stay healthy and avoid heatstroke.
The fire started Tuesday morning. That same afternoon, police detained a 61-year-old Oroville resident who used a propane torch to start a backfire, unrelated to the Thompson Fire. He was subsequently arrested on a felony charge of unlawful starting a wildland fire. The cause of the Thompson Fire remains under investigation.
