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The State - News from July 8, 1988

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A 2,550-acre fire west of Yosemite National Park was declared contained, but it will take another day to fully control the blaze, U.S. Forest Service officials said. Forest Service spokesman Dick Wisehart estimated the cost of suppressing the fire at $933,000. About 760 firefighters are still at the scene of the fire near El Portal, a town about 15 miles west of Yosemite Valley. The fire began Saturday when someone set off an illegal bottle rocket in the Stanislaus National Forest. Fireworks are illegal in the national forest because of the high fire danger. “The violator faces prosecution for criminal negligence for starting the fire,” Kaunert said. “In addition to that, they face the possibility of paying the entire suppression cost.” He said investigators have a suspect but are not releasing the person’s name.

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