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Yosemite National Park fire about half contained

The San Francisco Chronicle (California)
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Firefighters have contained roughly half of a 489-acre fire that is burning within sight of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, officials said Thursday.

The Boundary fire, named because it is burning near Boundary Hill, started Monday afternoon above the north rim of Yosemite Valley, half a mile northwest of the El Capitan summit.

The fire forced the closure of all trail access to the top of El Capitan, and 385 firefighters have been battling the blaze around the clock, park spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said.

Authorities believe the blaze was started by a campfire.

The area, at an elevation of 7,000 feet, has not burned in many years and is thick with underbrush. The fire is moving northwest through the Blue Jay Creek area, burning lodgepole pine and red fir trees.