Crews protect homes as California fire burns near Yosemite

A wildfire raging for a third day Sunday in central California’s Mariposa County outside Yosemite National Park has burned more than 14,000 acres and forced thousands to evacuate from rural communities, officials said.

The fire, which remained 0% contained Sunday morning, began Friday in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the small community of Midpines, roughly a 9-mile drive northeast of the county seat, the town of Mariposa, state fire officials said.

The governor of California, Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for mariposa county after the fire forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Activating a state of emergency allows for additional resources to aid in response to the fire.

The blaze comes as much of the U.S. has been experiencing an extreme heat wave this week, with parts of California seeing temperatures in the triple-digits.