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Thread: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    Just heard on the local news----120 is closed and 41 is the only route out of the park that's open (not sure if they considered 120 in Tuolumne Meadows)
    No campgrounds are threatened.
    If you're headed that way check the latest road info.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  2. #2
    Daniel Stone's Avatar
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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    It's dry as a bone, and hot as hell, so what's new here ?
    Typical for summertime in California

  3. #3

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    May 2006
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    Sillycon Valley, CA
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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    I don't see it at InciWeb but I did find some information about the fire at http://yubanet.com/CAFires/El_Portal.php

    Also, from http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm:

    Road and Campground Closures Due to Fire

    Big Oak Flat Rd between Crane Flat & the El Portal Rd is temporarily closed. There is no access to Yosemite Valley via the Big Oak Flat Rd or Hwy 120. Tioga Rd is open & accessible via Big Oak Flat & Tioga Pass Entrances. Crane Flat Campground is closed.

    Yosemite National Park is Open

    Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, and Wawona/Mariposa Grove areas are open and accessible via Highways 140 and 41. Tioga Road is not accessible via Highways 140 and 41 due to a fire.

  4. #4
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    You really have to keep up to date concerning these fires if you're thinking of heading that direction. Things can change and get out of hand really fast.

  5. #5
    Preston Birdwell
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    Columbia, CA
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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    From our local news website this morning...

    Yosemite, CA — The El Portal Fire, which is burning in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest, is up to 2,632 acres.

    Officials say there is no containment. One structure has been destroyed and several more are threatened. There is still no access to Yosemite Valley from Highway 120. You can, however, access Tioga Pass by entering the park from Highway 120. Yosemite Valley is open via Highway 140 and Highway 41. Crane Flat, Bridalveil Creek, and Yosemite Creek Campgrounds are closed, as are the communities are Old El Portal and Foresta.

    A Type 1 Fire Management Team is now managing fire operations. There are 585 firefighters on scene. In addition to ground crews, a DC-10, 8 airtankers, and 6 helicopters are being used to fight the fire. There will be a community meeting at six o’clock tonight at the El Portal School.


    Given the westerly winds today, smoke will also affect the Yosemite high country. I can see drift smoke to the east of Columbia this morning.

    Added: This is the third time the Foresta area has burned since the 16,000 acre A-Rock Fire in 1990.

    --P
    Preston-Columbia CA

    "If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse; that comes a little cheaper."

  6. #6
    rich815's Avatar
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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    Was returning from camping in Leavitt Meadows/Walker River area yesterday and near Oakdale we had about 5-6 Calfire trucks zoom past and one wide-load 18-wheeler with a bulldozer fly by with escort and lights and sirens a blarin'.

  7. #7

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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    Big brown cloud visible from Fresno this morning obscured the crest of a Sierra from Yosemite as far South as Huntington/Shaver Lakes.
    Not good.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  8. #8
    Daniel Stone's Avatar
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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    At least it'll promote new growth, and clear out old brush that's accumulated. Yes, it might rid photographic potential from the map for the next decade or two as things regrow and get restored/renewed, but that's just nature doing what it does best. Any idea on what started the fire?

    Should make for interesting photography if you want to shoot charcoal details . Sorry, had to interject some humor here

  9. #9

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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    It sounds like much of the area that's burning now was already burned in the big fire of '90
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  10. #10

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    Re: Whoa! Big fire in Yosemite/El Portal!

    When we had our big fire on Mt. Lemmon above Tucson, AZ about 10 years ago, biologists said the forest was an Ice Age remnant, and would probably never regrow those types of trees again. Same with the fires above the Mogollon Rim in northern NM. They say what used to be Ponderosa Pine forest will be "other", probably Bufelgrass and other introduced ground cover. If not just rocks. Hate to say it, but it's getting so warm the west may be like the Sahara desert in the future. Did you know the Sahara used to support a high population of humans?

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