A wildfire, touched off when a propane tank on a motor home traveling one of the main highways into Yosemite exploded, was in its fifth day Monday, but visitors to the national park could be forgiven if they didn’t notice.
Smoke from the rugged slopes burning in a box canyon along the Merced River didn’t even tinge the skies above Yosemite Valley, said Scott Gediman, Yosemite National Park spokesman.
“The sky is blue,” Gediman said. "There’s water in the waterfalls, the trails are open and it does not affect them in any way, shape or form.”
The motor home went up in flames Thursday afternoon on Highway 140 between Yosemite and Mariposa, spitting embers that started separate fires on both sides of the river, Gediman said. There were no injuries in the vehicle fire, he added.
By Monday, the blaze had eaten more than 4,700 acres of manzanita, scrub oak and Ponderosa pines. Highway 140 remained closed, but the other major routes into the park –- highways 41 and 120 –- were still open. And park services were unaffected.
“It’s business as usual,” said Lisa Cesaro, spokeswoman for Delaware North, the park concessionaire.
About 300 people, mainly park service and concession employees, were under an evacuation order covering El Portal, Rancheria, Cedar Creek Lodge and the Merced River campgrounds.
Most of them were placed in empty cabins, tents or other lodgings in the valley, or found space with family and friends, park authorities said.
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