Firefighters on Wednesday claimed 40 percent of the fire threatening Yosemite National Park that has destroyed 21 homes was contained and reopened the park's main western highway.
Authorities had temporarily shut down a 10-mile stretch of Highway 140, but officials are still recommending tourists take alternate routes to give fire engines enough room to maneuver.
The fire has charred more than 50 square miles of steep, rugged terrain since a target shooter sparked the wildfire Friday.
In all, more than 2,000 blazes have scorched about 1,700 square miles around California — mostly on national forest land — this year.
Some 3,800 fire crews are battling the fire along the Merced River canyon.
"The fire is burning ... on both sides of the river," the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Wednesday. "The fire is burning with a rapid rate of spread in multiple directions."
"Accessibility problems due to steep and rocky terrain," are a problem, the department added, and "active fire behavior is being observed in all directions primarily on the south and east flanks."
The fire has also forced the evacuation of 350 homes in the towns of Midpines and Coulterville, gateway communities whose businesses rely on tourist dollars to stay afloat. In all, some 4,000 homes in the area are considered threatened.
Source:Xinhua
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