Yosemite Fire Closes Highway 140
A wildfire burning 125 acres in the rugged Merced River Canyon west of Yosemite has forced fire officials
to close state Route 140 leading into the park.
About 300 firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and the U-S Forest Service are
fighting the blaze. A C-D-F spokeswoman says it´s burning just east of Briceburg and is about ten percent contained.
The blaze is expected to be
totally contained by Friday and so far only two minor injuries to firefighters have been reported and no buildings are threatened.
A Yosemite National
Park spokesman says the fire damaged power transmission equipment and the park has been operating on emergency backup generators since early this
morning but visitors are still welcome.
A C-D-F spokeswoman says Route 140 is closed from Midpines to Cedar Lodge but state routes 41 and 120
into Yosemite are still open.
The fire started yesterday evening in an unpopulated area near Slate Creek but fire officials don´t yet know what sparked
the blaze.
