Acreage Climbs In Yosemite Pika Fire
Yosemite, CA – The Pika Fire’s acreage continues to climb, but at a slow rate.
Yosemite National Park updates that the Pika Fire, burning just west of North Dome at 7,100’ elevation, is now 840 acres, up 22 acres from Tuesday when it was estimated at 818 acres. There continues to be moderate growth, with some isolated active pockets northwest of North Dome. Crews have gained 20% containment in the southern and eastern areas of the fire perimeter.
The lightning strike fire began on June 29, and crews are using a “confine and contain strategy” to keep the blaze inside a predefined area, utilizing natural barriers and trails to keep the flames from spreading, as earlier reported here.
“This allows fire to move naturally across the landscape, providing ecological benefits to plants and wildlife while also meeting protection objectives to minimize risk to people and infrastructure,” according to park fire officials.
Crews will remain on the scene to monitor the blaze and check for hotspots in the coming weeks. Smoke will be visible in Yosemite Valley and the surrounding communities of Foresta, Groveland, El Portal, and Lee Vining. Trail closures impacting short sections of the North Dome Trail and Lehamite Creek will continue.
