An Abandoned Campfire Started the Dome Fire, Investigators Say
The campfire was illegal under restrictions in place since August. The fire is 5,585 acres and 39 percent contained.
The Dome Fire was started by an abandoned campfire, according to the cause now listed on the incident's federal record. It began at about 7 a.m. on September 15, a quarter mile north of Chilnualna Falls.
That campfire was illegal. Yosemite has had fire restrictions in effect below 8,000 feet since August 1, which ban campfires outside designated sites. Investigators had already asked anyone who was around Chilnualna Falls in mid-September and saw someone with a campfire to come forward, and no suspect has been named.
It is a fire that has already cost two lives. Contract helicopter pilots Greg King and Ryan Cutter were killed on September 20 when their aircraft went down near Ostrander Lake during water drops.
As of this morning the fire is 5,585 acres and 39 percent contained, with 932 people assigned, and the Park Service says containment is now outpacing growth. CAL FIRE's incident page showed 5,484 acres and 39 percent on Tuesday evening; this paper uses the park's morning figure. Fire is still spreading north and northeast through surface fuels and spotting a quarter to half a mile ahead, mostly out of dense red fir.
Glacier Point Road remains closed with no reopening date; the Four Mile and Panorama trails to Glacier Point stay open. The Chilnualna Falls trail and the trails from its top toward Buena Vista and Crescent Lakes are closed. There are no evacuation orders, and the restrictions that the campfire broke are still in force across the park below 8,000 feet.
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