Second person killed battling Yosemite blaze
Wildfire keeps major sites at park off-limits
A firefighter from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks died Sunday morning fighting the Ferguson Fire.
The Mariposa County Sheriff ’s Office announced the death. The firefighter and his crew were engaged in an operation on the east side of the fire, according to ABC7 News in Fresno, California. The firefighter was struck by a tree. He was treated at the scene but died before he could be transported to a hospital.
“The team at Sequoia and Kings National Parks is devastated by this terrible news,” park Superintendent Woody Smeck told the station. “Our deepest condolences go out to the firefighter’s family and loved ones. We grieve this loss with you.”
Earlier, a bulldozer operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection died fighting the same fire.
The voracious wildfire that has scorched 85 square miles near Yosemite National Park will keep the iconic Yosemite Valley closed to visitors until at least Friday afternoon, a brutal hit for some businesses that rely on the park for survival.
Yosemite Valley, featuring attractions such as Yosemite Falls, El Capitan and Half Dome, is a small fraction of the magnificent park that sprawls across more than 1,100 square miles. The valley, the top draw for tourists, has been off-limits since last week because of heavy smoke from the wildfire that has roared since July 13.
Liz and Ron Skelton operate the Yosemite Blue Butterfly Inn in El Portal, just outside the park entrance into Yosemite Valley. The past several days have been filled with helping people evacuate, breaking the news to others that their travel plans must be altered and suffering with their neighbors the tragedies the fire brought to their community. When the smoke clears, they said, the fire will have cost their business thousands of dollars.
Business owners near other areas around the park said the news – and the view – isn’t all bad.
“Some reports make it sound like the entire park is closed, and it is definitely not,” said Ambria Witt, head innkeeper for the Hotel Charlotte and the Groveland Hotel near the park’s Big Oak Flat entrance.