Fire west of Yosemite moves across steep terrain

MARIPOSA -- Thousands of firefighters continued to battle a growing blaze in the Yosemite area Monday, hampered by steep terrain and high temperatures.

An estimated 4,000 homes were threatened -- double the number in danger over the weekend. The Telegraph fire, which began Friday when four residents went target shooting in the remote woods, has claimed 12 homes.

Officials declined to name the man who fired the shot believed to have sparked the 26,000-acre blaze. But Sarah Gibson, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire, said Monday investigators had found that the shooter did not act negligently and that no charges had been filed.

The fire began at a high elevation, authorities said, and the most difficult part of fighting the it has been the terrain, which has made it hard to bring resources and personnel to the rugged region west of Yosemite National Park.

"The Merced River Canyon is some of the steepest, nastiest terrain," said forestry department unit chief Mikel Martin. "I've been working this (area) for 36 years, and I haven't seen anything like this."

Martin said firefighters initially tried to airlift resources to parts of the fire, but there was too much smoke. Bulldozers were no help clearing the steep area.

Temperatures topped 90 degrees and are expected to rise for the rest of the week, according to Accuweather.com meteorologists.

Humidity levels are low, and winds of up to 35 mph are expected over the weekend.

The blaze is continuing to grow in all directions, said forestry department spokesman Kevin Colburn, although winds from the southwest are strongly pushing the northern edge of the fire.

One casualty of the fire was a major Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

transmission line, which brought power to 560 customers. At least half of them were in the Yosemite Valley area, including the famed parks and its hotels, stores and restaurants.

"There is no hard-wire power coming into Yosemite at the moment," Kenny Karst, spokesman for DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, said Monday. "But the good news is virtually all of our lodging, dining and front desk facilities are on generators."

The upshot: At the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, the main buildings and dining areas had power, but many guest rooms did not. Lodge staff handed out flashlights, and hot showers were available for no charge at nearby Curry Village.

At the historic Ahwahnee Hotel, the central building was on a generator, but the cottages were without power. Cottage renters were offered rooms in the hotel proper, and all who desired were relocated, Karst said.

"Yosemite Valley is approximately 30 miles east of the fire," he said. "There is some residual smoke that comes in and out depending on the wind patterns. By and large, we're seeing people coming in and keeping their reservations and enjoying their stay."

PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Tam said the utility had delivered a generator to the region and hoped to have it running by Monday evening, restoring power to the Yosemite Valley area and beyond.

But an additional 600 customers largely in the Midpines area remained without electricity Monday night, she said.

PG&E had "de-energized" five sections of distribution lines "so firemen can use water and not be in harm's way. These are areas that were already evacuated as well."