Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
2,700 Firefighters Battle Growing Ferguson Fire Near Yosemite
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
July 20, 2018

Share

MARIPOSA — A wildfire in the Sierra Nevada just west of Yosemite National Park expanded to nearly 36 square miles Friday. More than 2,700 firefighters aided by a fleet of helicopters were battling the Ferguson Fire but only 7 percent of its perimeter was contained.
Ground crews dealt with high heat and rugged terrain with little to no access by roads, officials said. Thunderstorms with gusty winds were also a concern.

Mandatory Evacuations And People on Standby

Several areas were under mandatory evacuation orders while residents of other areas were advised to be ready to leave if necessary, but no homes had been damaged or destroyed. Fire officials were to brief residents on the situation at two community meetings.
Yosemite remained open but one of its scenic routes, Glacier Point Road, was closed indefinitely Thursday night to stage firefighters. Glacier Point overlook offers one of the park’s grand views, including Yosemite Valley and such landmarks as Half Dome and Yosemite Falls.

A memorial service for Braden Varney, who was killed while operating the bulldozer for Cal Fire on the Ferguson Fire, will be held Monday in Modesto.
The park continued to advise visitors that smoke has been obscuring valley views since the fire broke out July 13 in steep and rugged terrain within Sierra National Forest.
A bulldozer operator was killed the next day while trying to stop its spread, and two other firefighters later suffered injuries.

Conditions Extremely Dry Throughout California

Wildfires burned or smoldered elsewhere in the state, including east of Los Angeles near the Riverside County city of Corona. Most evacuations ordered at the height of the fire Thursday afternoon were lifted that night, but firefighters had extensive work to do to complete a containment line around the 250-acre burn scar.
The National Weather Service warned that an extended period of high heat was brewing for a large swath of the state.
Excessive-heat watches and warnings were to go into effect early next week across Southern California and throughout the Central Valley as high pressure strengthened over the Southwest states, the NWS said.
“Conditions across the state are extremely dry. We need everyone to take extra steps to be safe when outdoors,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection tweeted.

Photo of firefighters on Merced River bridge
Fire crews keep watch on the Ferguson Fire from the South Fork Merced River Bridge on Highway 140 near El Portal in Mariposa County on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (Andrew Kuhn /The Merced Sun-Star via AP)

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

UP NEXT

Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food

UP NEXT

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

UP NEXT

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

UP NEXT

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

UP NEXT

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

11 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

11 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

11 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

12 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

12 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

13 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

13 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

13 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

14 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

14 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest individual, according to Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billio...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

10 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
10 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
11 hours ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
11 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

11 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

12 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
12 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend