Photo credit - Kari Greer via inciweb
It started high on the canyon rim, far above the Merced River. For days it seemed to be close to containment as thousands of firefighters and a formidable array of helicopters, air tankers, bulldozers, and fire engines assisted hand crews in attempts to encircle the fire.
Instead, the Ferguson Fire spread to become another huge wildfire dominating the news. After two weeks of growth and the tragic deaths of a heavy equipment operator and a Hotshot firefighter, the fire burned into the western flank of Yosemite Park. Hot fire runs pushed across Highway 41, burning portions of Yosemite’s scenic forests. Dense smoke and spot fires forced the closure of Yosemite Valley as well as two highways that access the Park.
The Ferguson Fire burned 150 square miles of brush, oak woodland, and conifer forest. While damage to Yosemite’s iconic features was mostly avoided, the Fire underscored the threat that high-severity wildfires pose for the Park and adjacent national forest lands.