Yosemite Photos, Video and News

Yosemite, CA-- Two lightning caused fires in the northern portion of Yosemite National Park have caused some trail closures in the area.

The fires continue to burn in the areas of Lake Vernon and Harden Lake. The fire in the Lake Vernon area, known as the Vernon Fire is now at 230 acres.  The fire in the Harden Lake area, known as the Slope Fire, continues to progress slowly and current acreage is at 688 acres.

Moderate smoke from both fires is visible in the Hetch Hetchy area, as well as along the Tioga Road near the White Wolf area.  All trails to Pate Valley from White Wolf have been closed due to fire activity related to the Slope Fire. Additionally, the trail from Tiltill Valley Trail Junction to Lake Vernon remains closed due to the fire activity of the Vernon Fire. Both trails will remain closed until further notice. The Tiltill Valley trail to Tiltill Mountain remains open. 

The Slope Fire and the Vernon Fire are both located in Yosemite Wilderness and pose no threat to park facilities. The fires are being managed by Yosemite Fire Crews for ecological benefits.

The Slope fire map offers a interesting illustration of what can be learned
from this kind of map and how it assists firefighters.  Note the elongated
east perimeter of the Slope fire; which indicates the strong southwest push
of wind this week on the fire.  Also of great importance is the previous
fire history.  The Harden fire of 2005 is a good example shown on the map,
as the Slope fire has gone around the 2005 perimeter and was slowed by the
lack of available fuel to burn.  Fire managers use that a tactile and
strategic land feature, as a buffer for large flame fronts and less smoke
production.  Spot weather forecasts provided daily on the immediate
fireground assist in predicting the fire behavior for each fire operation
period.
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The attached photos files have been reduced in size, but still will take a
bit of space.

(See attached file: Slope fire from firefighter safety lookout east of the
fire.-1000-1000.jpg)(See attached file: Slope fire with torching through a
dense forest canopy.-1000-1000.jpg)(See attached file: Slope fire.
Smoldering through green surface fuels.-1000-1000.jpg)(See attached file:
Slope fire.Torching through a  group of trees.-1000-1000.jpg)

The photos are by Yosemite N.P., Crew 6 firefighters.