Firefighters continued their efforts Sunday to contain the Dove fire, a wildfire burning in the hills southwest of Sonora in southern Tuolumne County, Northern California. The blaze, which consumed 223 acres by late Sunday evening, prompted mandatory evacuation orders for residents in neighborhoods threatened by the fire.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported that the fire had spread to 166 acres by mid-afternoon before expanding again later in the day. As of 10 p.m. Sunday, containment remained at 0%, and no structures had been reported damaged or destroyed. The cause of the fire had not been determined.

Evacuation orders affected areas roughly bounded by Stockton Road to the north, Highway 108 to the south, and McKibbon Drive and Washington Street to the east. Evacuation warnings were also in place for parts of downtown Sonora. An evacuation center opened at 5:30 p.m. at a county government office located at 18241 Bay Avenue in Tuolumne. Residents with pets were directed to animal care facilities at two sites in nearby Jamestown: Animal Control at 10040 Victoria Way and the Posse Grounds at 19130 Rawhide Road.

Cal Fire mobilized significant resources to combat the fire, deploying 22 fire engines, four bulldozers, one helicopter, multiple air tankers, and approximately 225 personnel. The agency engaged water tankers and aerial support to suppress the rapidly spreading blaze.

On Sunday evening, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state had secured a federal grant intended to help state, local, and tribal fire agencies recover up to 75% of their expenses associated with fighting the Dove fire.

The incident underscores growing concerns about wildfire risk amid rising global temperatures linked to climate change. Experts have noted that the average amount of land burned annually in the United States during the 2020s is more than double that of three decades ago, reflecting a trend toward more frequent and destructive wildfires.