29 homes lost in Detwiler fire burning in Mariposa County

More than two dozen homes have been destroyed in the Detwiler fire burning in Mariposa County, CalFire reported Wednesday evening.

More than 3,100 firefighters are battling the blaze, which surpassed 48,000 acres, or 75 square miles, and was 7 percent contained. An additional 1,500 structures are threatened by the fire.

The fire was sparked Sunday night in Hunters Valley near Lake McClure and quickly spread.

Access to Yosemite from Highway 140 is blocked from the road closure. Highway 49 also is closed in multiple places.

CalFire officials are asking the public to stay out of the area while crews work.

“We have a lot of firefighters and equipment moving in and out of the area,” CalFire Battalion Chief Jeremy Rahn said.

CalFire has set up its incident command post at the Merced County Fairgrounds, where thousands of firefighters are staging.

This story was originally published July 19, 2017 at 7:13 PM with the headline "29 homes lost in Detwiler fire burning in Mariposa County."