YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Favorable weather is helping crews make advances against a wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park, a wild land blaze that has expanded to become the fourth-largest in modern California history,
Clouds and higher humidity slowed flames from advancing through brush and trees, giving firefighters room to set backfires, dig containment lines and to strengthen lines around threatened communities, fire spokesman Trevor Augustino said.
The 2-week-old Rim Fire moved up a spot on the state’s list of large wildfires dating back to 1932 when it grew to 351 square miles — an area larger than the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose combined, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
Although the fire still is growing, it was 45 percent contained as of Sunday.
Full containment is not expected until Sept. 20.
The blaze started Aug. 17 in the Stanislaus National Forest and two-thirds of the land burned since then is located there as well. In Yosemite, 94 square miles have burned. The cause remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, the dense smoke that obscured Yosemite’s majestic views for the first time on Saturday and prompted air quality warnings was starting to ease, park spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.
Although park officials advised visitors to avoid heavy exertion, Cobb said she has seen people outside running “and enjoying Yosemite, despite the smoke.”
“The park was actually busier than I thought it would be,” she said.
A 427-square-mile fire in San Diego County that killed 14 people and destroyed more than 2,800 structures a decade ago tops the list of California’s largest wildfires.
The Rim Fire has claimed 111 structures, 11 of them homes.
The smoke from the fire burning hampered both suppression efforts and the prized views sought by holiday weekend tourists on Saturday.
For the first time since the blaze broke out in a neighboring forest two weeks ago, smoke obscured Yosemite Valley, home to the park’s most popular landmarks, spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.
“I’m in Yosemite Valley right now, and I cannot see the cliffs around me,” Cobb said Saturday. “The wind has shifted and smoke is impacting the entire park. We have been lucky until now.”
All the campgrounds in the Valley still were full as of Saturday morning, despite the thick blanket and burning smell that permeated the area and was expected to linger until at least Monday, she said.
As a health precaution, visitors were being asked to scale back their outdoor recreation plans and avoid strenuous activities or even stay indoors.
Meanwhile, firefighting aircraft were grounded most of the morning because of low visibility caused by the smoke, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Mark Healey said. The blaze had scorched 348 square miles of brush, oaks and pines and 11 homes, as of Saturday, an area larger than the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose combined.
Of that total, 94 square miles of wilderness have burned in the northern section of Yosemite, up from 75 square miles a day earlier.
The fire was 40 percent contained.
Although containment efforts proceeded on a positive note overnight, officials became concerned Saturday about a 150-acre spot fire that crossed a road and prompted an evacuation order for homes near the west entrance of Yosemite, Healey said.
Once planes and water-dropping helicopters were cleared to take off again, the worry lifted some along with the evacuation order.
“Air operations are going full-blast to bring this fire under control,” Healey said late Saturday afternoon.
The cause of the fire, which started Aug. 17 and has claimed the most acreage in the Stanislaus National Forest, is under investigation.
Healey said fresh firefighters were being brought in to replace tired crews, but that officials did not plan to reduce the nearly 5,000 people assigned to the blaze.
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