Wildfire burning inside Yosemite National Park forces partial closure

A wildfire threatening hundreds of Yosemite National Park’s giant sequoia trees has more than doubled in size over the last 24 hours, burning almost 170 acres as of Friday afternoon, according to Scott Gediman, a spokesperson for the park.

Gediman said the Washburn fire, which is located in the southern portion of the popular Mariposa Grove home to 500 mature giant sequoias, is 0% contained as of noon Friday, but the park is in “full suppression mode.” Mariposa, the largest of Yosemite’s three groves, was closed to the public Thursday after the fire broke out about 2 p.m.

The fire has not yet burned any sequoia trees, no one has been injured and no structures are currently threatened, Gediman said. The Wawona community north of the Mariposa Grove, which includes private homes and a hotel, has been given a “pre-evacuation warning” as a cautionary measure, he said, but no one has been asked to leave.

“The park is working hard to suppress the fire,” Gediman said. “Right now the conditions are allowing us to hit [the fire] hard by ground and air.”

He said winds and temperatures remain relatively mild as of Friday afternoon. By the end of the day, he expects more than 100 firefighters will be on scene working to contain the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Gediman said.

The rest of park remains open, Gediman said.

California

Logging project in Yosemite National Park halted after environmental lawsuit

The forest-thinning project, which authorities say would be aimed at removing fuel for wildfires, has been temporarily halted by a federal judge.

July 7, 2022