New wildfires in Mariposa and Tuolumne counties force residents to evacuate

Two new fires burning in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties continue to grow and force mandatory evacuations in the area.

On Saturday afternoon, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for the new Wagner Fire. The blaze was first reported around 2:20 p.m. in the Wagner and Ernst road area of Greeley Hill. Shortly after the mandatory evacuation order was given for Dogtown Road from Ernst to Holtzel roads and Holtzel to Ernst roads in Greeley Hill.

A Red Cross shelter has been established at New Life Christian Church, 5089 Cole Road, in Mariposa.

Meanwhile, more evacuation orders have been issued for the growing Donnell Fire, which started Thursday afternoon near the Donnell Vista off of Highway 108, near Donnell Lake north of Pinecrest. On Friday night the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory order was issued for the following areas: Wagner Tract, Clark Fork Road, Clark Fork, Camp Liahona and Sands Flat.

On Saturday afternoon an additional mandatory evacuation order was issued from Clark Fork to include Dardenelle and an evacuation advisory has been issued for Kennedy Meadows.

The United States Forest Service estimates that the Donnell Fire is at 1,000 acres.

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This story was originally published August 4, 2018 at 4:33 PM.