California’s Largest Wildfire of the Year Burns Near Yosemite
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The massive wildfire near California's Yosemite National Park quickly became the state's biggest blaze of the year.
The blaze, dubbed the Oak Fire, ignited on Friday afternoon near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the county and urged over 6,000 residents living in the area to evacuate. About 2,000 firefighters are using aircraft and bulldozers to combat the blaze. The Oak Fire burned across more than 17,200 acres at 16% containment by Monday night, according to Cal Fire. Over 2,600 homes and businesses in the are have lost power, according to Pacific Gas & Electric.
Some center-rated outlets noted that the Oak Fire "pales in comparison" to other megafires from previous years while acknowledging its "rapid growth rate." Left-rated coverage accentuated criticisms of Biden's reluctance to declare a climate emergency amid "mounting real-time evidence" of extreme heat "driven by planetary warming" intensifying wildfires. Right-rated coverage suggested that the Oak Fire marks a "fairly typical ramp-up" to the California wildfire season and criticized mainstream media outlets for unjustly linking the blaze to climate change.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
California’s largest wildfire of the year burns near YosemiteMore than 16,000 acres have burned as firefighters in Northern California continue to battle the Oak Fire near Yosemite National Park.
The number of personnel assigned to fight the blaze jumped from 403 to 2,093 in the past 24 hours as the fire has become one of the state's largest.
"Any spots that are flying, if they do, land into the fuels. Those fuels are so receptive and that's what's causing this fire to grow so, so rapidly and giving us such a hard fight," said Natasha Fouts, a Cal Fire spokesperson,...
From the Center
Oak Fire Approaching Yosemite Explodes in Size, State of Emergency DeclaredA fast-moving fire near Yosemite National Park exploded in size on Saturday, prompted a state of emergency to be declared for California's Mariposa County.
The blaze—called the Oak Fire—broke out on Friday afternoon near the town of Midpines and has since grown into one of California's largest wildfires of the year.
It covered more than 14,281 acres and was zero percent contained as of Sunday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Mariposa County on...
From the Left
California Oak Fire Rages Out of Control as Biden Mulls Climate EmergencyThousands of emergency workers in California struggled to fight a rapidly growing wildfire near Yosemite National Park on Sunday as President Joe Biden continued to mull whether to declare a national climate emergency, a move that campaigners say is needed to respond to the immediate threat of extreme weather and lay the groundwork for a livable future.
Dubbed the Oak Fire, the California blaze was completely uncontained as of Sunday afternoon, having tripled in size since it began on Friday. The fire has now burned more than 14,000 acres, making it...
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