Detwiler Fire Continues To Grow, Sparks More Evacuation Advisories

MARIPOSA COUNTY (CBS13) - It's all hands on deck as more than 2,000 firefighters battle the Detwiler Fire. Fire crews are still trying to save the homes directly in the path of the flames.

"I mean, this is major; we're surrounded," said Jim Fritze. "We watched it break on the top of the hill earlier today. We almost left because it was really bad."

Evacuation orders are in effect for all of Old Hwy Road, but Fritze doesn't want to leave just yet.

"I'm thinking about sticking around if I can keep the house wet, but I'm not gonna risk my life," he said.

He's spent the last 27 years living on his 21-acre lot south of Mariposa.

"The thought of it all going up is a little scary," Fritze said.

On Wednesday, Cal Fire called the blaze extreme, with spot fires continuously popping up. More than 35 fire crews wove their way through the canyon, racing against the fickle flames to save the threatened structures.

"It's headed this way, you know, I don't know if they're going to stop it or not," Fritze said. " We will have to wait it out."