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A wildfire that killed a California firefighter quickly grew and forced the closure of a key road in Yosemite National Park on Sunday. Officials say that the operator of heavy firefighter equipment Braden Varney, 36, died Saturday morning on the line of fire. (July 16)
AP

A helicopter recovers the water from the Merced River to fight Ferguson's fire on a steep terrain behind the Redbud Lodge along Highway 140 into Mariposa County, California, July 14th. , 2018. (Photo: Andrew Kuhn, AP)

A deadly, uncontrolled forest fire in California more than doubled in size and raged over more than 14 square miles of scrub and forest on Monday, forcing the Key Access Closure

Firefighters have not determined the cause of the fire that began to burn Friday night along the west edge of the park, where orders were issued. evacuation has been issued for a handful of small communities. Hundreds of firefighters were fighting the fire, which was only 2%.

John DeYoe, spokesman for Ferguson's inter-agency fire operations, said that a "massive order" of firefighters, engines, and other gear was rolling on Monday.

"We had extreme fire behavior overnight," he said. "He took some watersheds (low areas) and ran."

Other communities are warned that mandatory evacuations are coming soon "so get your stuff ready," said DeYoe

The Yosemite Cedar Lodge , which is found on park grounds, is normally buzzing this time of year. A mandatory evacuation order has emptied it.

"You can not see anything, it's so smoky outside.It's crazy," said the clerk of the reception Spencer Arebalo

For more information: The Yosemite fire could become a major threat to the national park

More: A California firefighter dies while fighting near Yosemite National Park [19659008] Firefighter Braden Varney, 36, married with two children, was killed on Saturday when his bulldozer was knocked down,

It burns across California and the West as the region struggles with high temperatures that have dramatically increased the danger of fire.The steep and rugged terrain has added to the challenges facing the Ferguson Fire Department.

"The weather should stay warm and dry for the next seven days, with possible isolated thunderstorms "Michael S trawhun, inter-agency incident management team warned in his incident report.

Throughout Washington, Oregon, northern California, and much of the northwestern interior temperatures will persist to above average levels for at least the first half of the week, according to AccuWeather. By the end of the week, cooler weather is expected to infiltrate the Pacific Northwest, limiting daily high temperatures to more comfortable levels.

In Yosemite, a two-mile section of State Route 140 was closed. line of fire along the highway. The park remained open, but visitors were marked with warnings.

"Because of the closure of Highway 140, expect the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park for long waiting times," said the park on Twitter, adding that "the Smoke-sensitive visitors should limit their outdoor activities "

UCLA climate scientist, Daniel Swain, warns that the fire" could burn for several days and that it could end up becoming a major threat "to the 1,200-square-mile park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Flames burn scrub and wood in steep and inaccessible terrain. Pacific Gas and Electric has power off its power lines that cross the fire zone, so that there is no electricity in the Yosemite, El Portal and Foresta areas .

More than a million acres across the country to federal officials. More than 3.3 million acres were burned, slightly ahead of the national average over the last decade for this time of year

Contribution: Mike Chapman, Trevor Hughes, Doyle Rice , United States TODAY Network; The Associated Press

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