Yellowstone fire abates under rain, snow; road may be reopened

A hoped-for cold front blew through Yellowstone National Park today, Sept. 30, bringing rain, snow and a welcome break for firefighters, who have been battling a lightning-sparked blaze for more than two weeks. After scorching more than 9,000 acres, the so-called Arnica fire appeared to be retreating, allowing abatement efforts that have involved more than 200 firefighters to be scaled down, officials said.

In the meantime, the National Park Service today was working to clear fire-damaged trees so that it can reopen about two miles of a roadway between the junctions at Lake Village and West Thumb. Regardless, drivers can expect delays in the park because another key route, between Norris and Madison, is scheduled to be closed until Nov. 2 as part of ongoing road construction.

Most of Yellowstone, including the iconic Old Faithful geyser area (pictured above), has been unaffected by the blaze, which is in the Lake Village region on the west side of Yellowstone Lake. The park is huge, with more than 2 million acres, and spreads across three states: Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

For updates, check the Yellowstone website or call its fire-information line, (307) 344-2580 or its road-information line, (307) 344-2117.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

Photo: Old Faithful’s spray hits cold air above the snow-dusted grounds in this shot taken from the park’s webcam  about 1:40 p.m. PDT Sept. 30. Credit: National Park Service

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 3:35 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Eco-Travel, Fall, Family & Kids, Idaho, Montana, National Parks, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Rocky Mountain States, Wyoming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.