Oak fire, California’s largest this year, explodes in size; thousands flee, towns threatened
LOS ANGELES — Firefighters were struggling to battle California’s largest fire of the season so far, a fast-moving inferno tearing through the Sierra Nevada foothills west of Yosemite National Park that has burned at least 10 structures, forced several thousand people to flee their homes and is threatening multiple mountain communities.
The Oak fire, which started Friday near Midpines and had spread to 14,281 acres as of 7 a.m. Sunday, marked an ominous start to the state’s peak wildfire season, with more dangerous blazes expected due to a combination of drought, climate change and overgrown vegetation that has increased the likelihood of fires igniting quickly and spreading rapidly.
It came as much of the globe was in the grip of extreme heat, with record-breaking temperatures fueling fires across Europe and prompting alerts in large swaths of the United States and China.
“The troops out on the ground have got
