Fire burning near Yosemite is almost out

“Things are great in the park. The skies are blue. The roads are open; everything is open. We’re enjoying the fall colors.” — Scott Gediman, Yosemite National Park spokesman

The Briceburg fire that has burned for nearly two weeks near Yosemite National Park, at times closing one of the two main highways from the Bay Area into the park, is nearly out, according to commanders from Cal Fire, the state’s primary fire department.

As of Thursday, Cal Fire said, the fire was 95% contained, having burned 5,563 acres.

Since Oct. 6, the blaze has burned in rural Mariposa County in the steep canyons of the Merced River, roughly 12 miles west of Yosemite’s Arch Rock Entrance along Highway 140.

The fire’s origins are still under investigation, but it forced the closure of Highway 140 and sent smoke into the park, with air pollution reaching levels considered unhealthful by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In recent days, however, as crews have gained the upper hand, Highway 140 has reopened. Rural residents who evacuated have been allowed to return home. And smoke levels have fallen dramatically.

“Things are great in the park,” said Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman on Thursday afternoon. “The skies are blue. The roads are open; everything is open. We’re enjoying the fall colors.”

The fire has disrupted businesses and tourism, rekindling memories of last summer’s Ferguson fire, which burned 96,000 acres close by the same area and forced much of Yosemite, including Yosemite Valley, to close for a week, amid choking smoke levels. A bulldozer operator fighting that fire also died.

Now crews say they expect to have full containment by Monday. The number of fire fighters has dropped from nearly 1,400 last week to 230 on Thursday.

Overall, California has had a mild fire season so far this year. Wet weather this win

ter increased the moisture levels of trees and brush across the state. And although winter rains mean more grass grows, statistics show that less acreage burns in California after wet winters than dry ones because fires that start in grasses do not spread as easily to larger vegetation when it holds more moisture.

Through Sunday, for example, a total of 41,204 acres had burned since Jan. 1 on the private and state- owned lands overseen by CalFire. By comparison, more than 15 times as much — 631,755 acres — had burned in Cal Fire’s territory over the same time period last year. And this year’s total is far less than Cal Fire’s five-year average of 372,066 acres during the same time interval.

October historically is one of the worst wildfire months in California, with the driest conditions until winter rains arrive to greatly reduce fire risk.