YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — The section of a wildfire burning close to one of Yosemite National Park’s treasured giant sequoia groves died down and got no closer to the grove, park officials said Thursday.
Revised estimates put the fire 2 miles away from the Merced Grove, not 10 as initially thought, park spokeswoman Kari Cobb said. Still, she said the fire had died down in the area, and the grove was not under any imminent threat.
Crews have widened fire lines that were created around the grove during last year’s massive Rim Fire as a precaution. Officials are also considering thinning out the grove to reduce potential fuel sources.
The fire had burned 6¼ square miles and destroyed a home and a duplex. It was 34 percent contained.
Cobb said firefighters have been hampered by steep terrain, low shrubbery, and thick vegetation that have made accessing the blaze difficult.
The grove is one of three stands of giant sequoias in Yosemite. It has 20 to 30 mature giant sequoias, Cobb said.
The park’s biggest stand of giant sequoias, the Mariposa Grove, has 500 mature giant sequoias.
Fire crews also were battling a blaze in Sierra National Forest about 60 miles northeast of Fresno that was creeping closer to the Mammoth Pool Reservoir, a popular recreation spot that supplies drinking water.
The blaze was about a mile away from the reservoir and crews were focusing their efforts on preventing its spread there, though the reservoir was not in immediate danger, said fire spokesman Dan Ware.