Environmentyosemite-firecalifornia firenational park service

Yosemite Meadow Fire Forces Evacuations Near Famous Half Dome (PHOTOS)

Jaw-Dropping Images Of Fire Surrounding Famous Landmark
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

A towering blaze that started Sunday afternoon east of Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome has grown to 2,600 acres, forced approximately 100 hiker and backpacker evacuations and closed all trails in the area, the National Park Service (NPS) reported Monday morning.

The NPS believes the blaze burning in Little Yosemite Valley may be a spot fire that spread from the lightning-caused Meadow Fire, which after several weeks of burning has been limited down to 19 acres.

Check out the stunning and forbidding images below of the flames and of smoke dominating the iconic Half Dome, from where YubaNet reports an additional 85 hikers had to be evacuated by helicopter.

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Before You Go

Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park(01 of20)
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Half Dome (AmandaWalker, Flickr) (credit:AmandaWalker, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(02 of20)
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Giant Sequoia trees in Mariposa Grove (b.e.r.n.s., Flickr) (credit:b.e.r.n.s., Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(03 of20)
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Giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove (Palojono, Flickr) (credit:Palojono, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(04 of20)
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Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir stand on Glacier Point. (Library of Congress) (credit:Library of Congress)
Yosemite National Park(05 of20)
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Yosemite Falls. The highest falls in North America. Upper falls, 2,425 feet, lower falls, 1,430 feet.(docentjoyce, Flickr) (credit:docentjoyce, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(06 of20)
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Yosemite Valley (vl8189, Flickr) (credit:vl8189, FLickr)
Yosemite National Park(07 of20)
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Black Bear, Yosemite. (elliegon@gmail.com, Flickr) (credit:elliegon@gmail.com, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(08 of20)
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Grizzly Giant (daveynin, Flickr) (credit:daveynin, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(09 of20)
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Hikers walk through the snow at the top of Yosemite Falls. (Mulsanne, Flickr) (credit:Mulsanne, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(10 of20)
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Three Brothers and the Merced River from Cathedral Beach. (bumeister1, Flickr) (credit:bumeister1, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(11 of20)
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El Capitan (fortherock, Flickr) (credit:fortherock, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(12 of20)
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El Capitan, Cathedral Rocks and the Merced River. (bumeister1, Flickr) (credit:bumeister1, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(13 of20)
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A horse-drawn carriage passes through a tunnel in a redwood tree in Yosemite National Park, Calif. (U.S. Department of the Interior / AP) (credit:U.S. Department of the Interior / AP)
Yosemite National Park(14 of20)
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Wawona Tunnel Tree, Mariposa Grove. (phil virgo, Flickr) (credit:phil virgo, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(15 of20)
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Climbers on El Capitan. (D.H. Parks, Flickr) (credit:D.H. Parks, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(16 of20)
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Yosemite National Park's Tuolumne Meadows is shown, Thursday, June 15, 2006, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Looking east across the Tuolumne River you can see Lembert Dome and Mt. Dana. (Al Golub, AP) (credit:Al Golub, AP)
Yosemite National Park(17 of20)
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WPA poster for Yosemite. (Library of Congress) (credit:Library of Congress)
Yosemite National Park(18 of20)
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View of Half Dome from Glacier Point. (mhlradio, Flickr) (credit:mhlradio, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(19 of20)
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Fall colors in Yosemite National Park. (dsleeter_2000, Flickr) (credit:dsleeter_2000, Flickr)
Yosemite National Park(20 of20)
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The setting sun hits Horsetail Fall at just the right angle to light it up as if it's on fire, in Yosemite, Calif. This natural phenomena occurs for just two weeks in February and is reminiscent of the old firefall of burning embers that park employees pushed over Glacier Point to entertain guests until 1968. (Bethany Gediman, Yosemite National Park Service / AP) (credit:Bethany Gediman, Yosemite National Park Service / AP)
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