California Wildfires 2014: Hundreds Evacuated as Fires Rage

Hundreds of residents in Northern California have been evacuated from their homes as two wildfires continue to burn on Monday. One of the fires began on Sunday afternoon near Yosemite National Park, and it caused over 1,000 residents to flee nearly 400 homes. 

USA Today reports that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has said the fire has consumed 21 structures, including homes and other buildings. 

Chris Christopherson is the CalFire Batallion Chief, and he told the Sacramento Bee regarding the fire's destruction, "This is gut-wrenching. It makes you sick." 

Apparently, some evacuees barely escaped the fire. One victim, Joe Cunningham said, "My wife and I looked back and saw our backyard was burning. So we didn't take much time. She drove one car, I drove the other car, and we just left." 

Authorities still haven't announced how many of the damaged or destroyed structures were homes. 

Authorities say the fire started near Oakhurst, which is outside Yosemite National Park. High winds also played a part in the fire's spreading, and the blaze wasted no time in consuming approximately 320 acres of land. 

The recent fires caused California Gov. Jerry Brown to seek federal aid to help pay for the efforts to contain the Northern California blazes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly approved a grant to cover 75 percent of the cost of combatting these fires. 

A second fire located further north and approximately 60 miles east of Sacramento has also caused residents to evacuate. According to USA today, 133 homes in El Dorado County were evacuated per the county sherrif, and 406 additional homes in the area are apparently on standby in case the fire continues spread. 

Southern California also had a fire burning over the weekend in Orange County. The blaze begun Friday near Silverado Canyon, and apparently around 200 homes were going to be evacuated before firefighters contained the fire. The fire was approximately 50 percent contained as of late Sunday afternoon.