Yosemite, California Wildfire Update: Weather Slows Blaze After Helicopter Rescues

Cooler weather on Monday slowed the spread of a wildfire that led to the helicopter evacuations of some 80 hikers on or near the park's famed Half Dome. 

"We were pleasantly surprised with high humidity and scattered showers throughout the morning," said Kari Cobb, a park ranger. "So anytime you have weather like that it's going to help suppress fire activity."

The fire, which had burned about 4 square miles of timberland, wasn't threatening any buildings. The park remained open, but some campsites were closed.

The so-called Meadow Fire started weeks ago in the Little Yosemite Valley after a lightning strike and had burned through just 19 acres of terrain in 49 days before Sunday. The Los Angeles Times reports that park officials let the small fire burn unabated for weeks in order to "restore the area's natural fire patterns" and that because the fire was burning so slowly at such a high elevation it posed little risk to park goers.

But that changed quickly Sunday, after wind gusts caused the fire to explode in size to more than 2,500 acres as of Monday morning.

"We just got unbelievable crazy winds and unexpected hot conditions," Tim Ludington of the National Park Service told the Fresno Bee. "The fire behavior totally changed. There is a huge plume."

"The fire was getting very close to the trail to Half Dome and we didn't want to take the chance on people having to hike through the fire to get back," Ludington told the Los Angeles Times.

Numerous trails remain closed in the park, including trails from Nevada Fall to Merced Lake, according to the National Park Service. Yosemite National Park remains open.

Another fire near Yosemite National Park, called the Bridge Fire, burned through more than 300 acres in Mariposa County, California, and threatened hundreds of homes before firefighters finally gained the upper hand Sunday.

At its peak, the Bridge Fire threatened as many as 700 structures in Mariposa County, according to CalFire. Residents of 300 homes in the community of Oakhurst, California, just miles from Yosemite National Park, were told to evacuate as flames approached their residences Saturday. Previously, 400 more homes in Mariposa County’s Ponderosa Basin were advised to evacuate, according to the Merced Sun-Star.

All evacuation orders have since been lifted. Firefighters upped containment of the blaze to 75 percent as of Monday morning. So far no damage has been reported, but one firefighter was injured Friday fighting the fire. That firefighter has since been treated for minor injuries and is resting at home, the Associated Press reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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