MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. — Favorable conditions are giving firefighters a better chance to make more progress on the Oak Fire in Mariposa County.
As water-dropping helicopters attack the fire from above, 94-year-old Ruth Clarke and 80-year-old Chuck Bunker are hunkered down in their pick-up truck waiting to return home.
"I want to get my cats and go home," said Ruth Clarke, who left her home in Lushwood Meadows.
"I want to get my cats and go home," she said.
The Mariposa Elementary School is serving as an evacuation center, the retired fashion model and flea market owner grabbed what they could when the fire started.
"We're waiting for the OK to go back in there. No telling if it will be there," Bunker said.
Bulldozers are being used to cut containment lines and a multitude of fire resources are coming in from across the state as crews make headway against the blaze.
"They've still been able to get some good containment lines in and bring this fight to the fire, and I think you're going to see, over the next few days, those (containment) percentages increase," said Captain Keith Wade with Sacramento Fire Department.
However, the fire still leaves behind a destructive path. 25 homes are destroyed, and wildlife has been chased off by the flames.
In addition, Mariposa County relies on more than 50% of their employment to tourism.
"When you start talking about a fire canceling people's travel plans or not coming to visit, it's massively impactive not just to business owners but to the people that live and work in this community," said Tony McDaniel, with the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau.
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