Residents in town of Ahwahnee feel the tension as River Fire rages and expands nearby
As the River Fire continued to burn Monday, surging past 9,000 acres, residents in the mountain community of Ahwahnee grew more anxious over the possibility of the blaze moving into their area.
Ahwahnee Quick Mart clerk Sammy Gollen said he had a front-and-center view all day of movement in, around and out of town as some people made the difficult decision to leave now rather than wait for a mandatory evacuation order that may or may not come.
“I’ve been seeing a lot people coming and going, quickly, in the area,” Gollen said late Monday night. “Everyone is trying to get out of here and get to family houses and to places to be safe. It’s just a go, go thing.”
Also whizzing past the store: Fire tucks and bulldozers rushing to get where they’re needed along the front lines of a wildfire that broke out Sunday afternoon along the Mariposa and Madera county border.
Flames were first reported in the area of Oak Grove Road and Oak Grove School Road within a dozen miles of several communities, including Mariposa (about 10 miles away). Raymond in Madera County is nine miles away; Ahwahnee originally was about eight miles to the east of the fire area and Oakhurst about 11 miles away.
Gollen could at least take some comfort in the fact he commutes to work, so his home is not in danger, even if his workplace might be in the coming days or hours. He has lived in Oakhurst for 10 years and been through his share of fire scares.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire had burned at least 9,500 acres and was at 15% containment. Evacuations were in place elsewhere on the Madera County side of the fire, but so far not in the Ahwahnee area.
Still, everyone in the town of about 2,500 people likely was aware of the threat and some weren’t about to wait to get out. Coincidentally, it was 60 years ago this week that the “Harlow Fire” burned more than 18,000 acres in a two-hour span, enveloping the towns of Nipinnawasee and Ahwahnee.
Tough times continue for resort
Nevada Moore, a staff member at Sierra Meadows, a “glamping” spot in Ahwahnee, said that tension was high among some resort guests as smoke grew visible. Many scheduled to arrive this week decided to stay away.
“We’re still open and we still have guests, but because of the smoke and concerns, we’ve had a lot of cancellations and a lot of guests leave early,” Moore said. “Just thinking about the fire maybe moving our way makes it hard for people to feel comfortable.”
Moore, a resident of Ahwahnee, said that smoke in the area is thick, blocking out the sky. It continues a rough year-plus for the small business.
“Between the fire and COVID, and now fires again. We were just getting back into the flow and now our lodging business is getting hit really hard,” she said.
Earlier Monday afternoon, Martha Medina, a clerk at Coarsegold Market and an 18-year resident of that community, also was among those with a nervous eye focused elsewhere. She said she has a sister and brother who live in the Ahwahnee area.
“We’re just on edge waiting to see what happens there,” Medina said. “Everything is so dry and hot that the fire moves quick. It just spread so quick it was crazy.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Residents in town of Ahwahnee feel the tension as River Fire rages and expands nearby."