Fire Forces Hundreds Out of Yellowstone

A fire that has charred a 35-mile swath across the heart of Yellowstone National Park threatened one of the park’s most picturesque areas and forced out hundreds of visitors, officials said Wednesday.

The rapidly burning North Fork fire, which started July 23 in Idaho’s Targhee National Forest, grew to nearly 100,000 acres and forced the closure Wednesday morning of the Canyon area.

The fire was roughly 2 miles to the west of the area, which is just north of the center of the 60-mile-square park.

The closure of Canyon, Yellowstone’s largest development with 600 cabins and 280 campsites, sent more than 700 visitors and employees to other parts of the park.

By mid-morning Wednesday, only firefighters and reporters remained at Canyon, and the buzzing of chain saws filled the air as crews removed downed trees and undergrowth.

. Fire officials said they hoped to keep the North Fork fire confined to the north of the Canyon area, but feared that embers could bring the blaze into Canyon.

Although not the biggest of the 10 fires that have burned more than 354,000 acres in Yellowstone, the North Fork blaze has become the most dangerous to structures. Firefighters previously had come close to containing the fire, but the lack of rainfall combined with winds gusting to 60 m.p.h. repeatedly have fanned it out of control.