3 firefighters inured in Priest Fire attack near Groveland in Tuolumne County

Three firefighters were injured while attacking a rapidly spreading vegetation fire sparked by a vehicle fire on Monday afternoon near Groveland, officials said.

The fire, dubbed the Priest Fire, sparked after a vehicle caught fire on Old Priest Grade, and the flames spread into nearby vegetation.

Authorities said the fire was exhibiting a "dangerous to critical rate of spread" as multiple deputies and firefighters responded to the scene. By the early evening, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's (Cal Fire) Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit said the fire was estimated at roughly 10 acres and forward progress had been stopped.

Mandatory evacuations had been issued for Priest Station Cafe at the top of Old Priest Grade and the area along Priest Coulterville Road down to the creek reservoir at the Hetch Hetchy entrance. An evacuation warning order was also in place for residents in the nearby Big Oak Flat area through the county's Everbridge emergency notification system.

All evacuation orders have since been fully lifted.

Cal Fire said the nature of the three firefighters' injuries was not clear but noted that they had already been treated and medically released.

Traffic had been significantly impacted by the fire. Highway 120 was closed from the Highway 49 Junction to Big Oak Flat due to the fire.

The sheriff's office said Old Priest Grade had also been closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles, while New Priest Grade is open only for evacuating residents.

The cause of the vehicle fire was not yet known.