Yosemite Fire Moves to Higher Elevation

The massive blaze in along California’s Pacific Rim moved to higher elevation Monday night, giving firefighters their first small break in fighting the fire, which has burned hotter and faster than any in the region’s history. At the higher elevation and out of the steep ravines of the Sierra Nevadas, crews can fight the fire on more level ground—and huge air tankers can drop retardant on accessible ridges. “This fire will burn until the snow flies,” said Tom Medema, a Yosemite National Park interpretative manager. “But today we finally had a chance to box it in.” Containment reached 20 percent Monday, as the fire had left 161,000 acres charred in its path, destroyed at least 23 structures, and threatened two groves of giant sequoias and historical structures in the national park.