FRESNO, Calif. — The main western highway into Yosemite National Park reopened Wednesday after firefighters kept flames from leaping across a steep river canyon and drawing perilously near the park.
The blaze is now 40 percent contained and has charred about 50 square miles of dry brush and oak woodlands. It has reduced 21 homes to ash in two gateway communities outside the park.
Earlier this week, the blaze shut down a 10-mile stretch of California 140, where fire raged up tufts of dry grass on the canyon side, spitting out gray smoke that spilled into Yo sem ite, obscuring its vertical vistas.
“The good news is the highway is now open, but we’re still suggesting people use other routes if they’re going to the park so fire crews have space to work,” said David Christy, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “At least the fire’s pretty well contained within the existing perimeter now.”
Wednesday, police let visitors enter the park along the Merced River canyon passage only if accompanied by an escort.
“The road is open, but the major issue is that the helicopters that are dipping down into the river sucking up water,” said Highway Patrol Sgt. Joseph Adkins. “People stop to take pictures of this, especially foreign tourists, because it’s exciting and fascinating, but we need to keep those people going.”
Hundreds of evacuees from the towns of Midpines and Coul terville have holed up with friends, with relatives and at crowded motels since the fire was sparked Friday by a target shooter.
The fire has forced dozens of park employees to evacuate their homes and has left one of California’s most popular destinations shrouded in smoke at the height of tourist season.
In south-central Montana, meanwhile, a 9-square-mile blaze skirted a line of flame retardant intended to shield a ski area outside the resort town of Red Lodge. The fire pushed down the canyon to within about a mile and a half of the top of the ski hill, said Jeff Gildehaus with the Custer National Forest.
An evacuation order remained in effect for 90 homes. The wildfire, which started Saturday, was 5 percent contained Wednesday morning. The cause is under investigation.
