LOS ANGELES — “Increased fire activity” was expected Tuesday as crews continued to battle the 3,221-acre Washburn fire in Yosemite National Park, but officials were growing more confident that the Mariposa Grove of ancient sequoias would survive the blaze.
“Although there’s a lot of smoke with this, it seems to be progressing slowly and it seems to be doing predictable things,” U.S. Forest Service district ranger Jennifer Christie said during a community meeting late Monday night.
Nearly 700 firefighters were battling the blaze from the air and the ground, including setting backfires, laying hand lines and using bulldozers to create barriers, officials said. The fire was 22% contained Tuesday morning.
