More firefighters headed to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, where large, growing wildfires have closed or threaten key roads and forced the evacuation of a large campground during a busy stretch of the summer tourist season.
Advertisement
Major wildfires are burning in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
As of Monday, all of the park’s main tourist facilities remained open, even though the Maple fire (the biggest blaze among the four fires) is reported to have grown by almost 10 square miles in a span of a few hours, prompting authorities to order more firefighters to the area.
In addition, about 50 people were evacuated from several campgrounds and a lodge that rents cabins in the area.
Crews have fully surrounded a massive Southern California wildfire that burned for a week and destroyed 105 homes and 216 outbuildings.
Officials say that there was minimal fire activity recorded yesterday and last night.
At least 2,400 people are under evacuation orders in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.
Major tourist areas in both parks are open as the National Park Service holds events to celebrate its 100th anniversary this week. The fire has remained at 35 percent containment for several days. It’s one of four fires burning in Yellowstone, and warm, windy weather was expected again Monday.
Meanwhile, a 58-square-mile fire that destroyed 105 homes in Southern California was nearly entirely contained and all evacuation orders were lifted.
A wildfire on California’s central coast grew to almost 60 square miles Tuesday and destroyed nine more homes, bringing the total to 45. As authorities keep a vigilant eye on the nearby Madison Junction area of the park reserved for hiking, fishing and other activities, firemen are now working around the clock to contain the blaze. More than 100 firefighters, supported by helicopters, are battling the flames near the closed highway.
The prospects for reopening the route are “not good in the near future” because the fire was close to the highway, fire spokeswoman Karen Miranda said.
Hearst Castle was closed over the weekend, though officials said Sunday that the fire was growing in the opposite direction of the popular tourist attraction built by media magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Except for the Whit Fire, believed to be human caused, all other fires, inside and outside Yellowstone, have been blamed on lightning. Officials say they are increasingly confident it will be spared.
The fire northeast of Thompson Falls had burned 33 square miles as of Wednesday morning. Although there are approximately 75 structures within a quarter mile of the fire’s edge, no buildings are threatened at this time.
Advertisement
It’s burning about 23 miles northwest of Logan, and about one-fourth of a mile from the Beaver Mountain Ski Resort, which was on pre-evacuation notice this week.
