MARIPOSA COUNTY — Firefighters dealt with another day of high temperatures and active fire behavior on the northeast corner of the Detwiler Fire.
The fire is now estimated at 80,000 acres, still with 65 percent containment. The area of uncompleted line remains in the northeast corner between Coulterville and Briceburg.
Firefighters continue to work aggressively throughout the day to reinforce containment lines. Steep and rugged terrain is making access difficult, but crews are making good progress.
At 9 a.m., Highway 49 North was reopened with traffic control in place from one mile north of Bear Valley Road to Highway 132 (Coulterville).
By about 11 a.m., the fire began heating up in the Dogtown/ Texas Hill area; the same spot that broke out of direct containment lines yesterday and burned about 500 acres. Engine crews, dozers and air resources hit the area hard.
At noon today, evacuation advisories were lifted for South County Mariposa.
Also at noon, mandatory evacuation orders were lifted on Lower Dogtown Road from J132 to Wagner Road for residents only (Wagner Road remains closed). These areas remain under an evacuation advisory.
All other evacuation orders remain in effect. Click here for a full list of evacuations and road closures.
Everyone is warned that fire crews are still working and moving across the entire fire area, and drivers should be cautious and aware.
Just after 6 p.m. today, another fire was reported in the Bootjack area on Ashworth Road near Grist Road. Air Attack diverted from the Detwiler Fire and the fire was reported at 3-4 acres when the first unit arrived.
One structure was fully involved, one threatened, and another completely surrounded by fire. Firefighters are still actively working that fire. We are updating in another article as the incident progresses. Click here for details.
There are currently 4,495 personnel assigned to the Detwiler incident including 361 engines, 61 water tenders, 114 hand crews, 74 dozers, 19 helicopters and air tankers as available.
As firefighters continue their work to build and strengthen containment lines, some gather up miles of used, dirty hose to be cleaned, rolled and returned to warehouses, while others are being demobilized for some much-needed R&R to be ready for new fires.
The Local Assistance Center held today at the Mariposa High School Gymnasium for anyone affected by the Detwiler Fire will be open again tomorrow, Wednesday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The high school is located at 5074 Old Highway N. For details of the services offered, click here.
A Local Assistance Center will be scheduled within the week for North County once evacuation status, road closures and fire status permits.
For all the stories on the Detwiler Fire, click here.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
For detailed maps of the incident, click here. We will update this map after tonight’s fly-over.
