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Wildfire Near Yosemite Forces Evacuations, Closes Highway 140
A wildfire dubbed the Colorado Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon roughly 10 miles west of Yosemite National Park, prompting evacuation orders and the closure of Highway 140. Cal Fire reported the blaze had grown to 250 acres by evening with zero containment, while Yosemite National Park remained open.
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Wildfire Near Yosemite Forces Evacuations, Closes Highway 140
A wildfire broke out Tuesday afternoon roughly 10 miles west of Yosemite National Park, prompting authorities to order evacuations and close Highway 140, one of the main routes into the park. The blaze, dubbed the Colorado Fire, was burning along Highway 140 and Colorado Road, according to Cal Fire.
By early afternoon, the fire had grown rapidly. As of 2:39 , Cal Fire reported the fire had burned 30 acres and was "rapidly expanding" upslope. Around 3:12 , it had grown to 171 acres and was burning at a "moderate rate of speed" toward the Merced River drainage, according to Cal Fire. Reports from later in the afternoon indicated the fire had reached 250 acres by 5:51 , with zero percent containment.
Cal Fire deployed helicopters and air tankers dropping retardant on the flames. According to radio traffic, the fire was spreading at a moderate rate in the steep canyons along the Merced River. In total, 126 firefighters, 14 engines, 4 helicopters, and 2 bulldozers were assigned to the fire.
Evacuations and Road Closures
Mariposa County officials issued an evacuation order for Rancheria Creek Road and the community of Briceburg. An evacuation warning was also issued for Colorado Road from Highway 140 to Rancheria Creek.
Highway 140 outside the park was closed between Cedar Lodge in El Portal and Midpines due to the fire. Colorado Road from Highway 140 to Rancheria Creek was also closed, according to Cal Fire. Yosemite National Park itself remained open.
Cal Fire reported that 45 structures were threatened by the fire. Weather conditions remained generally moderate Tuesday, with temperatures in the Mariposa area in the mid-70s and mild winds.
The cause of the fire has not been reported.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: Emphasizes the fire's proximity to Yosemite and the closure of a major route — Measured, factual reporting of the fire's status, details on containment and response
Facts Included:
A wildfire broke out Tuesday afternoon roughly 10 miles west of Yosemite National Park, prompting authorities to order evacuations and close Highway 140, one of the main routes into the park
The fire, along Highway 140 and Colorado Road, was 250 acres, according to Cal Fire, with zero percent containment
Yosemite National Park remains open
Highway 140 outside the park was closed between Cedar Lodge in El Portal and Midpines due to the fire
Cal Fire had deployed helicopters and air tankers dropping retardant on the flames of the blaze, dubbed the Colorado fire, which according to radio traffic were spreading at a moderate rate in the steep canyons along the Merced River
There were 126 firefighters, 14 engines, 4 helicopters and 2 bulldozers on the fire
Mariposa County officials issued an evacuation order for Rancheria Creek Road and the community of Briceburg
An evacuation warning was issued for Colorado Road from Highway 140 to Rancheria Creek
Weather conditions remained generally moderate Tuesday, with temperatures in the Mariposa area in the mid-70s with mild winds
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimThe Colorado Fire burned at Highway 140 and Colorado Road, according to Cal Fire.
ClaimAround 3:12 p.m.,the Colorado Fire grew to 171 acres and was burning at a 'moderate rate of speed' toward the Merced River drainage, according to Cal Fire.