Thousands Lose Power As 'Oak Fire' Grows To 9,500 Acres, 0% Contained

MARIPOSA COUNTY, CA — A fire in Mariposa County was 0 percent contained Saturday afternoon after growing to 9,500 acres in just one day, quickly becoming California's biggest fire in 2022.

The fire started at 2:10 p.m. Friday on Highway 140 near Carstens Road, sitting just outside Yosemite National Park, according to Cal Fire. By Saturday the fire, dubbed "Oak Fire," was the biggest California in 2022, according to Cal Fire's database.

The fire had reached 9,500 acres by Sunday at 3:44 p.m. The second biggest fire in California this year was a fire in Riverside County in May, which reached 5,856 acres.

Thousands of PG&E customers lost power Saturday afternoon around the fire. PG&E reported outages affecting at least 2,770 customers near Sierra National Forest around 2:30 p.m. Saturday. There was no estimate on when power would be restored.

It could be a week before the fire is contained, officials told the Los Angeles Times.

The the fire spread to 1,600 acres shortly after it started and reached 4,350 acres by 10:30 p.m. Friday, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire was still under investigation Saturday, according to Cal Fire.

The fire had damaged or destroyed 15 structures by Saturday afternoon and threatened 2,000 more, authorities said.

The fire prompted extensive evacuations Friday, sending at least 1,700 residents out of their homes in the Sierra Nevada foothill area, CBS reported.

Another nearby fire was completely contained Saturday morning after reaching 421 acres.

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