Not much to report today. The fire grew to over 45,000 acres by this morning, up from about 39,000 acres a few days ago when the thread started. Despite the growth of the fire, containment is up to 29%, which is good. I have to think that the Yosemite Valley closure will be extended past Sunday, but I could be wrong.
Air quality in Tuolomne is reported as “Moderate” for today (and the last few days). For health reasons, I’d obviously prefer there be no smoke, but at least Lyell Canyon (for 9 miles or so) is relatively flat until you start up the grade toward Donahue Pass.
I’ve still not heard anything from anyone actually in the area, but I’m heading up to Mammoth Lakes on Sunday and into Tuolomne early Monday. I’ll try to report back on the conditions in the area.
There’s a Tuolomne webcam here:
https://www.nps.gov/customcf/webcam/...F4530A57767712
It’s hard to tell the conditions from the webcam as it’s not the highest quality picture, but at least you can see Fairview Dome. I have had conditions near my house where it was so smoggy that I couldn’t see the 10,000 ft mountain just a few miles behind my house.
If any of you are into photography on the trail, I’ve been looking forward to getting some nice early morning shots of Thousand Island Lake. It will be interesting to see what they sky looks like behind it.