Yosemite Dome Fire Now 69% Contained; Rain and Snow Forecast for Fire Area

The Dome Fire burning one mile north of Wawona in Yosemite National Park has reached 6,805 acres with 69 percent containment, according to the Sunday, October 11 morning incident update. Officials reported 926 personnel assigned to the fire, whose cause remains undetermined. The acreage figure was revised downward from earlier estimates because of more accurate mapping, and an estimated containment date is October 17.

Fire officials said all control lines held during the previous day's wind event after several days of steady work by crews. Fire activity picked up with the wind, but burning stayed in interior areas and never threatened containment, the update said. Firefighters will continue tactical patrol along control lines, mop up, and begin backhauling excess equipment, while mule trains keep moving supplies and gear into remote sections of the fire area. With progress made, leadership has reduced the number of spike camps in the wilderness.

A significant weather shift is expected to help. The forecast calls for mostly cloudy conditions with rain showers likely Sunday afternoon into evening, followed by rain and snow showers from Sunday night through Monday night. Southerly winds were expected to be stronger Sunday at 10 to 20 mph with gusts of 20 to 35 mph. Forecasters said the precipitation should diminish fire behavior almost completely, though large heavy fuels in the interior may continue to smolder.

Yosemite National Park is open and operating normally with several exceptions, according to the update. Glacier Point Road reopened Saturday, October 10 at 7 a.m., and drivers are asked to watch for firefighters working along the road. Alder Creek Trail is open north to the Deer Camp Trailhead, and Chilnualna Falls Trail is open from the trailhead east to Chilnualna Fall and Crescent Lake. All trails within the active fire footprint remain closed, including south and eastbound trails accessed from Glacier Point Road, and Buena Vista Trail remains closed.

Fire restrictions are in effect below 8,000 feet in the park because of high fire danger and to reduce human-caused wildfires. The fire is burning in a red fir fuel type with montane shrub and brush understory, interspersed with granite outcrops that do not burn. Large-diameter fir trees over 100 feet tall have been hit by insect and disease mortality, leaving a heavy snag component and abundant dead and down woody debris, while areas within 2017 fire footprints carry less closed canopy but still hold dead material that can produce spotting. Smoke outlooks with air quality and forecast information are available through the park's links.