Wildfire in Yosemite Park Causes Dozens to be Evacuated by Helicopter, By: Nina Bharadwaj, 2nd Period

     About 100 visitors of Yosemite Park were evacuated on Sunday after a wildfire that began several weeks ago expanded to 700 acres. Many visitors were forced to be airlifted from hiking trails and campgrounds. Some had even been hiking on the renowned, 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley, Half Dome Peak.
    Officials, such as firefighters had been watching this fire ever since it began between Half Dome and Little Yosemite Valley. However, extremely high temperatures and immense winds caused this spark to largely expand on Sunday. The chief of Yosemite Park's roads and trails, Time Ludington, stated "We just got unbelievable crazy winds and unexpected hot conditions. The fire behavior totally changed."A few roads in Yosemite remain open, while many trails were closed. Near Mariposa, 15 miles south of Yosemite Park, officials were beginning to control a wildfire.
     An evacuation for the previous 300 acre fire had already been lifted for the 300 houses it threatened. Nevertheless, the fire was hazardous to 700 homes. The drought in California as well as steep terrain are partially to blame for boxing firefighters from preventing the fire.
     In Northern California, another fire broke out but only expanded to 151 acres and was 30% contained. Optional evacuation was issued to many residents by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department. It has been estimated that it has taken 2,700 people and $54.7 million to keep the fire away.

     This article was published on September 8, 2014 and was written by associated press in 3rd person point of view. This article is relevant to society today because it has been an ongoing issue in society for much time. Although this incident occurs in California, it really applies to all of society. The fact that it has taken so many people and so much money should appeal to one emotionally and logically because of the threat of these wildfires to so many lives and because the continual spending of money is an issue to the United States as a whole. The main purpose in writing this article is to factually and in a nonpartisan view inform the audience of an ongoing issue and its harmful effects. The intended audience would most likely be young to old adults who are more likely to actually take in knowledge on this hazardous issue. Prior to reading this article, I did have knowledge on wildfires and how they mainly take place in California due to drought. However, now I have more knowledge on a specific wildfire and its effects on society.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/08/wildfire-forces-evacuation-dozens-yosemite-park-visitors-by-helicopter/