The South Entrance to Yellowstone National Park is expected to remain closed into this weekend because of a fire burning in neighboring Grand Teton National Park.
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The blaze in Grand Teton park made a 5-mile run on Monday, forcing closure of a 10-mile stretch of US 89-191-287 that leads into Yellowstone’s South Entrance.
The road remained close Tuesday.
Fire spokeswoman Karen Miranda says prospects aren’t good for opening the road anytime soon because the fire is burning along the highway, which leads to the South Entrance of Yellowstone.
Dillon added that there is no active fire along the perimeters. The largest fire has burned about 42 square miles between West Yellowstone, Montana, and Madison Junction.
At least 2,400 people are under evacuation orders in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.
The popular tourist attraction.
Officials said fire behavior remained extreme overnight Monday, continuing to burn in steep terrain, along with very dry brush and timber. Investigators were seeking the cause of the blaze that broke out a week ago.
Eighty miles up the coast, California’s biggest fire grew to almost 135 square miles in rugged wilderness coast along Highway 1 north of Big Sur. The fire now threatens to destroy Hearst Castle, a designated historical monument, California state park, and home to countless artworks.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency for 20 Washington state counties in response to wildfires that threaten homes and natural resources. Additional evacuation warnings were issued Wednesday.
Crews in both states fought to contain the blazes, with firefighters making headway in the Golden State while authorities counted at least 16 homes burned in the Northwest.
More than 2,000 people have been instructed to evacuate but some are choosing to ignore the evacuation order.
Since Monday, the number of resources assigned has increased, with 324 engines, 62 water tenders, 17 helicopters, 107 hand crews, 46 bulldozers and seven air tankers fighting the fire that started August 13 just south of Nacimiento Lake. Englund said the fire doesn’t pose much of the threat to the castle building.
Authorities have ordered evacuations in eastern Idaho where a fast-moving wildfire burning rangeland and sage grouse habitat in a rural area has ballooned to 40 square miles.
The sheriff’s office says it’s working with ranchers to get cattle out of the fire’s path. Wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour were expected to blow across the dry, hot terrain, stoking extreme fire behavior.
Wildfires in the Spokane area have burned more than a dozen homes and forced evacuations.
The fire covers more than 37,000 acres and is at 35 containment as of this morning.
A week-old, 50-square-mile blaze north of Santa Barbara is still growing as it feeds on extremely dry fuels in Los Padres National Forest.
A third blaze was burning on the northeast side of the city. A series of fires started Sunday afternoon amid high winds and temperatures in the 90s. The cause of the fire is unknown.
“Attention is turning from that fire. toward others”, Nathan goes on to say.
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Campgrounds are shut down in Sequoia National Forest because of a 41-square mile fire in Kern County that’s just 15 percent contained after more than a week.
