Firefighters Try to Tame Blazes in West

Firefighters today battled lightning-kindled wildfires that have burned more than 275,000 acres in the West, including 12,000 acres in Yosemite National Park, which was closed to most visitors.

Scattered fires in California left 100,000 acres charred by morning. More than 90,000 acres of forest land have burned in Oregon in recent days, more than 80,000 acres burned in Idaho and nearly 5,500 in Utah.

In Yosemite, 10,000 visitors were stranded overnight to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. Two villages were evacuated and 25 structures burned.

The park was closed to most visitors late Thursday after fires blocked all the main roads. Fire officials planned to escort out the stranded campers today.

Only California Route 120 over Tioga Pass remained open. Spokeswoman Paula Brown said only visitors with reservations at the Wawona camp on the park’s south end would be allowed in.

About 200 miles to the north, a 3,500-acre blaze forced some residents to flee Ravendale, said state forestry spokesman Chris Parker. A 2,500-acre fire threatened the town as well, he said.

A total of 17,608 lightning strikes were recorded from Aug. 3 through midweek, sparking more than a thousand fires, Parker said. He said more than 6,000 firefighters were in action, including 2,000 brought in from outside California.

THE WEST ON FIRE Locations of some major forest fires in western states. OREGON Fires near Burns, Hines and Riley Kalamath Basin CALIFORNIA Tehama County Yosemite National Park Sequoia National Forest IDAHO Sawtooth National Forest UTAH Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation MONTANA Custer National Forest