The wildfire that pressured evacuations in Tuolumne County on Sunday hasn’t grown since Monday afternoon, Cal Fireplace says, and isn’t threatening nationwide park entry.
Fireplace crews in Tuolomne County constructed containment strains and secured the Dove Fireplace’s perimeter on July 26, 2026. (Courtesy of CalFire through Fb)
A wildfire burning within the hills close to Sonora has stopped rising as firefighters work to comprise the blaze that pressured evacuations throughout elements of Tuolumne County.
The Dove Fireplace broke out simply earlier than 3 p.m. Sunday southwest of Sonora, close to Freeway 108 and Mill Villa Highway, spreading rapidly by means of dry fuels, prompting necessary evacuations and highway closures inside and across the metropolis.
Cal Fireplace stated Monday that the blaze now sits round 224 acres, with the preliminary trigger nonetheless underneath investigation.
“There’s loads of smoldering particles nonetheless throughout the hearth perimeter,” stated Emily Kilgore, a public info officer for Cal Fireplace’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit, who had simply returned from the hearth strains on Monday. “Firefighters are nonetheless putting in a containment line and strengthening that perimeter.”
The hearth was at 0% containment on Monday afternoon, with 484 personnel assigned, Kilgore stated. However it had not moved since Sunday afternoon.
The Dove Fireplace is the newest in a string of wildfires testing Bay Space and Northern California crews throughout a sizzling, dry stretch. Final week, the Little Fireplace scorched greater than 1,000 acres close to Pleasanton and Sunol earlier than crews have been capable of halt its unfold.
Two firefighters have been damage Sunday, Kilgore stated. One suffered an ankle harm, and the opposite confirmed signs of warmth sickness; each have been taken for medical analysis and have since been launched. Harm inspections are underway, and Kilgore stated it was not but clear whether or not any constructions had been affected.
Regardless of the warmth wave settling over Northern California this week, with temperatures inland climbing towards 100 levels and humidity dropping, Kilgore stated forecasters’ warnings are extra of a priority for brand spanking new fires than for this one.
“For this explicit hearth, firefighters are doing good work on getting that containment put in, so we don’t anticipate that affecting the hearth conduct,” she stated. The warmth and dry fuels, she added, are “a major supply of contributing to wildfire ignitions” throughout the area, and she or he urged individuals doing out of doors work to make use of warning and shift exercise to the cooler morning hours.
One hazard crew is watching throughout the hearth’s footprint is previous mine shafts, Kilgore stated, a legacy of the Gold Nation terrain, which firefighters are working round as they construct line.
Regardless of headlines putting the hearth “close to Yosemite,” it isn’t affecting entry to the nationwide park, which sits about 70 miles east, Kilgore confirmed.
The Nationwide Climate Service has warned that as warmth peaks, hearth hazard will construct throughout the area by means of the next weekend.
Kilgore urged residents to maintain an evacuation package prepared and to observe Cal Fireplace’s web site and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Workplace for the newest. “If you happen to stay within the space and don’t really feel protected, please depart,” the workplace wrote in a Fb publish. “Don’t wait to be instructed to evacuate.”
