Blaze Forces Closure of Half Dome Trail

A campfire may be to blame; Yosemite trail should reopen today.

By Mark Grossi
Fresno Bee - July 28, 2002

A fire on the west shoulder of Half Dome closed the trail to the popular Yosemite National Park attraction on Friday as firefighters and helicopters contained the blaze.

The fire, which was spotted about 1 p.m. Wednesday, burned about 15 acres in a gully almost surrounded by granite, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. Officials said the fire appeared to be contained Friday afternoon.

The Half Dome Trail was closed through 8 a.m. today and may reopen to the public at that time. Officials closed the trail to make sure park visitors would be safe. "[The fire] is not near the trail," Gediman said. "It's near a climbing route called Snake Dike. But we didn't want to take chances with the trail."

The 8.5-mile trail from Happy Isles to the top of Half Dome already has been closed a lot this summer; since July, it has been closed Monday through Thursday for repairs.

Gediman said this week's blaze, called the Deltoid fire, did not appear to be caused by lightning. Officials suspect a campfire may have gone out of control, but an investigation continues.

"We don't know how it started," Gediman said. "But we suppressed it. This wasn't a situation where we would let the fire burn, as we might with a natural fire."

Smoke from the fire was prominent Wednesday and Thursday in Yosemite Valley, west of Half Dome.

There have been no injuries or damages, Gediman said.

He added that 39 people worked on the fire. Two helicopters dumped water on it as well.