In this photo provided by inciweb.nwcg.gov, a wildfire smolders on the northwest side of Owyhee Canyon south of Vale, Ore., Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
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Also in honor of the anniversary, Thursday through Sunday there is free admission at Yellowstone and 123 other parks and national monuments.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo.
Grand Teton National Park posted this video of the fire on Facebook Wednesday. Both fire and ice are hindering travel into Yellowstone National Park on the National Park Service’s centennial anniversary.
Four other entrances to Yellowstone are open, and once inside the world’s first national park, visitors won’t notice much is unusual other than a smoky haze in some parts of the sprawling park. While Park roads and all Park businesses remain open, the South gate closure could affect driving access to the celebration activities in the north, Swartle said. “There is no impact from the fire that is affecting those events, the centennial events, through the weekend”.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is set to visit Yellowstone on Thursday, and no changes have been made to her plans because of the fire, Swartley said.
The Berry Fire in Wyoming has necessitated a temporary closure at the park’s south entrance.
Four fires are burning in Yellowstone. But cooler, damper weather has slowed the flames, Swartley said.
The fire became very intense earlier this week. “With the weather conditions prevailing today and tomorrow, the fire is just kind of bedding down”.
The wildfires may have cut short Guardado’s trip, but they didn’t ruin it.
Julie Guardado of Sacramento, California, and her boyfriend were visiting Yellowstone as part of a cross-country trip but chose to leave a day early over fears of road closures.
The state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the blaze in San Bernardino County mountain areas is 100 percent contained Tuesday after charring almost 57 square miles of drought-dry brush.
“You kind of breathe in and like ah smoke and kind of a constant campfire smell that really doesn’t feel to comfortable”, said Erich Zimmerman, Washington visitor.
“Even with the smoke, it was still pretty awesome”, she said.
Fitzgerald says the same hot temperatures and high winds that stoked the blaze on Monday are expected to cause the fire to grow Tuesday past its current size of less than one square mile.
Campgrounds in the area have all been evacuated. No buildings have been lost. The situation is being monitored and there is no anticipated time for the road to reopen, said Sandy Snell-Dobert, Yellowstone National Park spokesperson.
The sheriff’s office says it’s working with ranchers to get cattle out of the fire’s path. “We’re even having difficulty keeping that road open for fire traffic”.
Madison Junction is also home to a campground, some visitor facilities and staff housing.
“Operations are running smoothly”, Klein said. The detour adds a little over an hour to the drive to Old Faithful.
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The almost 50-square-mile fire in eastern OR near the Idaho state line is now threatening Succor Creek State Park.
