Ferguson Fire grows nearly 3,000 acres overnight, containment remains at 29 percent

The size of the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park grew nearly 3,000 acres overnight, officials reported Saturday morning.

A total of 49,619 acres are consumed, according to the Saturday 7 a.m. update by incident commander Jay Kurth. The containment remains the same at 29 percent.

The update says firefighters worked throughout the night to increase containment lines and monitor a small fire that broke out Friday afternoon southeast of El Portal along the Ferguson Fire’s perimeter.

Crews were able to suppress that fire, about five acres, and said swirling winds caused the small fire’s breakout.

The evacuation order for the Lushmeadows area was lifted at 8 p.m. Friday but only residents are allowed into the area, fire officials said. The area includes Triangle Road from Darrah Road to East Westfall.

On Friday, Yosemite National Park officials announced the Yosemite Valley won’t reopen to the public until Friday, Aug. 3 at 4 p.m.

Several areas of the park will remain closed to visitors, such as Tunnel View and Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.

There are a total of 3,898 personnel working to get the wildfire under control.

This story was originally published July 28, 2018 at 8:35 AM.