Crews gain on Yosemite fire; highway reopens

At summer's peak, as many as 4,000 visitors a day stream into the park, and rangers expect the fire will keep very few people away.

Officials with DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, which manages restaurants and lodging in the park, said only about 2 percent of all overnight guests have asked for refunds since Saturday, when the transmission line that fed power to Yosemite was destroyed in the fire.

Hotels, stores and most restaurants in the park have remained open, but have been operating on generators. On Tuesday, 245 guest rooms at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls remained without power, and lodge staff were handing out flashlights and offering free hot showers at nearby Curry Village. Limited electricity was restored Tuesday afternoon in El Portal, near the park's western boundary.

"We're seeing a few people departing maybe because they have health concerns about the air quality, but virtually everyone's staying in the park," said Kenny Karst, a spokesman for the concessionaire. "Our main message is we're open. The stables are open, we've got river rafting, and we're leading all kinds of hikes and trips to the backcountry."

$50,000 reward in earlier fire
Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the person who ignited a destructive wildfire last month.

The mid-June blaze destroyed 87 homes in and around the town of Paradise and charred more than 23,000 acres in Butte County, about 90 miles north of Sacramento. The fire contributed to at least one death, an elderly woman who suffered a heart attack while evacuating.

In Montana, crews on Tuesday dug in against a 5,900-acre wildfire threatening the ski town of Red Lodge, 60 miles southwest of Billings. The immediate threat to the town appeared to have eased, but flame-whipping winds were forecast to pick up overnight.

The fire remained about eight miles outside town and two miles from the Red Lodge Mountain Resort. Authorities had told residents of about 200 homes west of town that an evacuation order could come at any time.

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