YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. _ Yosemite Valley was reopened for the first time in weeks on Tuesday morning, but some visitors may have been surprised to see a burning hillside along El Portal Road, a key entryway into the famed glacial valley.
Officials at Yosemite National Park had listed the official reopening time as 9 a.m., but a steady stream of light traffic began entering the valley hours earlier.
On Monday evening, helicopter crews worked steadily to stamp out the Ferguson fire as it burned along a hillside near the Merced River. They repeatedly maneuvered their buckets down into the river, avoiding nearby boulders and trees.
Highway 140, which becomes El Portal Road once inside the park, will be one of the only open routes into Yosemite Valley on Tuesday. But it's also near one of the last challenges that firefighters face in ending the Ferguson fire.
"That's the last active part of the fire for the Ferguson fire," said Tom Efird, an incident information officer. "It remains within the (containment) lines, so we're just actively working on mopping it up and making sure it doesn't spot over the containment lines and create any more problems for us."
As of Monday evening, the Ferguson fire had grown to 96,607 acres and was at 86 percent containment. The fire started July 13 at 9:36 p.m. in the South Fork Merced River drainage in the Sierra National Forest.
Firefighters have been challenged by the region's steep, rocky terrain and the substantial number of dead trees, killed by drought and a bark beetle infestation. The dead trees quickly fall, placing firefighters near them in significant danger.
Two firefighters have died during the Ferguson fire, including a captain of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots who was killed by a falling tree.
Yosemite Valley was closed July 25 because of unhealthful levels of smoke and ongoing firefighting near the valley. Wawona Road _ which is Highway 41 outside park limits _ will remained closed past Tuesday for that reason.
More than 4 million people visited Yosemite last year, and 90 percent of them go to the valley _ home to sweeping views of El Capitan, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America.
With the valley closed, hundreds of Yosemite Hospitality staffers have been left with little to no work to do. Since Friday, though, many of them have worked busily to prepare restaurants and lodging.
When fires hit and pets go missing, this San Diego crew hits the road �
It's rare, if not impossible, to get a hotel room or campsite at Yosemite during the season if a visitor hasn't planned months in advance. But Yosemite Hospitality estimates that it's at 60 percent capacity for its accommodations, which include Housekeeping Camp, Half Dome Village and the Majestic Yosemite Hotel.
"It's our busiest time of the season. At this point, we receive more than 70 percent of our guests between late Memorial Day through Labor Day," said Bob Concienne, vice president of operations for Aramark Leisure's Yosemite contract.
"We welcome anywhere between 4.5 (million) to 5 million visitors every year. A lion's share of those folks come in, whether they're international travelers or folks on vacation, during the summertime."
