Conditions described here were accurate only as of the date shown and may have changed. This is not a substitute for current official information from the agency with jurisdiction. See the full notice. Full notice.
The Closure Order Runs Out at Midnight Tonight, and the Fire Is Still Growing
3,795 acres on mapping done this morning. Handlines are holding on the west. The order that shut Chilnualna Falls expires at 11:59, unless it is extended.
The closure order the Yosemite superintendent issued last week runs until 11:59pm on Wednesday, September 23 — tonight — unless otherwise extended by a subsequent order. That conditional wording has been there from the start, and with the fire still growing it should be read as a minimum rather than a reopening date. Check the park's closures page before you plan around it.
Interagency mapping done this morning puts the fire at 3,795 acres with containment holding at 15 percent and 840 personnel assigned, up from 784 yesterday. Cal Fire's Tuesday evening figure was 3,683 acres. The fire has grown every day since it started on September 15 and has not lost containment while doing it.
The behaviour has changed for the better. The incident team describes the fire spreading north toward the 2017 Empire Fire footprint at a low to moderate rate, creeping and smouldering rather than making runs. Handlines on the western side are holding, and crews have made progress in the Turner Ridge and Empire Meadows area, which is where the spot fires were.
The weather is about to work against that. The cloud that brought cooler conditions and a chance of thunderstorms earlier in the week is moving out, with higher temperatures and drying conditions forecast. Fires in cured fuel respond to that quickly.
The closed area remains Chilnualna Falls, the routes from the top of the falls toward Buena Vista and Crescent lakes, the Ostrander Lake Trail and everything south of it, and the ground east of the Wawona Road between Wawona and Chinquapin. Both lakes are still reachable from the east, every road is open, and there have been no evacuation orders at any point.
One planning note that applies well beyond this fire: a confirmed room, campsite or entrance reservation does not confirm that the hike you booked it for is possible. Check the route, the overnight arrangements and the smoke forecast together.
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