CAL Fire helicopter 404 at Columbia Air Base
Tuolumne County, CA – A group of 14 backpackers, some teens, had to be rescued from the Emigrant Wilderness after a wicked storm blew through the area.
CAL Fire reports that the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (TCSAR) team and its Columbia-based helicopter evacuated the hikers to safety. The rescue took place on Thursday (July 1), but a 911 personal locator beacon alert came into the sheriff’s dispatch, late Wednesday (June 30). They detailed that a sudden severe thunderstorm producing heavy rain, hail and lightning, leaving some in the group needing medical attention.
Meanwhile, in the Big Oak Flat area near Groveland, Cal Fire ground and aircraft were battling the ten-acre Vernal Fire, detailed here.
Updated Vernal Fire in the Big Flat Oak area of Tuolumne County 5:50 p.m.
Update at 6:24 p.m.: Firefighters have stopped the forward progress of the Vernal Fire at 10 acres, according to CAL Fire spokesperson Emily Kilgore. Rugged, steep terrain had made it hard for ground crews to get hose line around the blaze, but aircraft was able to drop retardant around the entire fire to assist firefighters.
The flames broke out around 4 p.m. in some grass between Priest-Coulterville and Merrell roads in the Big Oak Flat area of Tuolumne County, which is south of Highway 120 and west of Highway 49. What ignited the fire remains under investigation. Kilgore relays that crews will remain on scene to gain full containment and then mop up for the next couple of hours.
As of press time, some trails, campsites, and businesses are closed due to COVID-19 precautions. To check for safety protocols and potential closures, check individual websites before you go.
It’s no exaggeration to say that some of the most formative outdoor experiences of my adult life happened at Yosemite National Park in California. It’s where I went backpacking for the very first time (and where I learned that you do not, in fact, need to haul along a full-size pillow and roughly ten pounds of Swedish Fish in order to survive). It’s also where I completed my first multi-pitch climb, saw my first bear, and dug my first cathole (necessary after viewing my first bear). I even completed my first long-distance hike, a two-month stint on the Pacific Crest Trail, which meandered through the park’s Tuolumne Meadows, where Alex Honnold offered me a wave from one of his famous paws