Wildfire threatens homes near Yosemite Valley :

MIDPINES, CALIF. - A wildfire threatened several hundred homes near the main entrance road to Yosemite National Park, authorities said.
Cheryl Goetz, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the 1,000-acre fire was burning in steep, rugged terrain along both sides of the Merced River.
The Mariposa Sheriff's Department is warning residents of the town of Midpines to prepare to evacuate. Midpines is Highway 140, the thoroughfare to the west entrance of Yosemite National Park.