Wawona under mandatory evacuation as Ferguson Fire roars toward fourth week
Wawona is now on the list of communities under mandatory evacuation orders as the Ferguson Fire burns near Yosemite National Park.
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office issued the mandatory evacuation order just after 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“You can begin evacuating now,” said a sheriff’s office news release. “Yosemite National Park Service and Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office are currently in the area contacting residents.”
Since the closure of Wawona Road to Highway 140 is still in effect, the office says to use Wawona Road to Highway 41 to exit the area.
“Fire activity” and its direction toward the community is the cause of the evacuation, Mariposa sheriff’s spokeswoman Kristie Mitchell said.
Red Cross has an evacuation center located at New Life Christian Fellowship, 5089 Cole Road in Mariposa.
The wildfire that began July 13 near El Portal in the Merced River Canyon is at 63,798 acres and 39 percent containment, incident commanders announced Wednesday evening.
And there was some encouraging news: The residents of the El Portal Trailer Court are welcome back into their homes as the evacuation order was lifted 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.
However, the area is under a fire advisement and has the potential to be evacuated again if fire conditions change.
This story was originally published August 1, 2018 at 6:49 PM.