Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Smoke from the Ferguson Fire has been drifting over Yosemite National Park

A huge, deadly wildfire that burned for weeks and threatened the Yosemite National Park in California has finally been contained.

The Ferguson Fire has burned through nearly 97,000 acres (39,250 hectares) of land to the south-west of the park since 13 July.

More than 3,000 firefighters have battled the blaze. Two have been killed and 19 injured.

Most of Yosemite's tourist areas have now reopened.

Their closure, mainly due to smoke blowing into the park, damaged the local economy during peak tourist season.

The Ferguson Fire is one of several wildfires that have raged across California in recent weeks.

But cooler weather and calmer winds have helped give fire crews the upper hand, officials said.

"The weather is helping the fires to lay down and they [firefighters] are able to get better containment lines around them," said Cal Fire spokeswoman Lynnette Round.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Two firefighters have lost their lives fighting the Ferguson Fire

Park authorities tweeted that the Ferguson Fire was at "100% containment".

"Thank you to all of the firefighters for their hard work and dedication," it added.

The centre of the national park has reopened after being shut for three weeks although lingering smoke meant a few main roads remained closed over the weekend.

Park officials urged visitors to exercise caution, warning that sporadic fires still burned within containment lines.

Elsewhere in the state, the Mendocino Complex fire west of Sacramento is now 76% contained, authorities said. They expect to have full containment of it by 1 September.

The fire - the largest in the state's history - has burned about 335,000 acres.

Further north, the Carr Fire, which has killed at least seven people, is now 83% contained according to officials. The fire has destroyed more than 227,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.</s>MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. (KGTV) -- A fire burning around Yosemite National Park has been fully contained, according to KGO.

The Ferguson Fire burned nearly 97,000 acres and destroyed 10 structures. Fire crews are now in the mop-up and repair phase.

The fire spread throughout Mariposa County for more than a month from July 13 through August 19. Two firefighters were killed fighting the fire and 19 people injured.

More on the Ferguson Fire:
• Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County: Parts of Yosemite National Park to remain closed</s>The deadly Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park is now 100 percent contained, according to officials.

The fire, which killed two firefighters as crews battled the flames for over a month, burned a total of 96,901 acres.

As the fire raged, Yosemite was temporarily closed to visitors for safety reasons. It later reopened on Aug. 14.</s>San Francisco, Aug 20 (IANS) A huge, deadly wildfire that burned for more than a month and threatened the Yosemite National Park in California, was now 100 per cent contained, according to fire officials.

Ripping through bone-dry brush and timber, the Ferguson Fire torched 96,901 acres, wiped out 10 structures and left two firefighters dead after starting on July 13, NBC News Bay Area quoted the officials as saying on Sunday.

The flames and smoke also forced officials to close the Yosemite valley for nearly three weeks during the peak of the tourism season.

At the height of the fire, more than 3,000 people from around the world were working to suppress the flames, the officials said.

While the blaze is fully contained, fire officials reported that some parts of the forest will continue to smoulder and burn, causing some smoke to linger in the area.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Ferguson Fire is one of several wildfires that have raged across California in recent weeks, reports the BBC.

The Mendocino Complex fire west of state capital Sacramento is now 76 per cent contained, authorities said. They expect to have full containment of it by September 1.

The fire – the largest in the state’s history – has burned about 335,000 acres.

Further north, the Carr Fire, which has killed at least seven people, was now 83 per cent. The fire has destroyed more than 227,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.</s>The deadly Ferguson Fire, near Yosemite National Park, which raged for more than a month has been 100% contained, fire officials announced Sunday.

The massive blaze started on July 13, and its cause is under investigation. The blaze killed two people and injured 19 people.

On the second day of the fire, Cal Fire’s heavy equipment operator Braden Varney was fatally injured when the bulldozer he was operating to make a fire line rolled over. About two weeks later, firefighter Capt. Brian Hughes died after he was struck and killed by a tree on July 29.

The sprawling fire that burned 96,901 acres had prompted park authorities to order evacuations and shut popular areas at Yosemite. The closures affected Yosemite Valley, home to famous sites such as El Capitan and Half Dome, for nearly three weeks due to a fire.

The Ferguson Fire was one of several massive fires burning in California in recent weeks.

The largest blaze in state history is the Mendocino Complex Fire, which consists of the Ranch and River fires in Northern California. It has burned a combined 389,967 acres and was 79% contained, as of Sunday night.

The Carr Fire, also in Northern California, has burned 227,098 acres and is 85% contained.

At another Western national park, firefighters in Montana are working to contain a lightning-caused fire at Glacier National Park that prompted evacuations and destroyed several structures.

The Howe Ridge Fire ignited last week at the national park in Montana, causing evacuations at certain sites, campgrounds and partial road closures. The fire exploded recently, spreading to about 7,835 acres, as it was pushed by winds and burned through heavy, dead timber.

Much of that dead forest fuel had been the result from the 2003 Roberts Fire.

Most other areas of the park remain open. The estimated containment date is November 1, according to information posted about the fire at the national park.</s>(Reuters) - A massive and deadly California wildfire that sent choking smoke into Yosemite National Park, causing a temporary closure of large parts of the tourist destination, is completely contained, fire officials said on Sunday.

More than 3,000 personnel have battled the Ferguson Fire, which ignited on July 13 and has burned through nearly 97,000 acres (39,250 hectares) of steep slopes and bone-dry terrain southwest of the park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said.

Two firefighters were killed while tackling the blaze and 19 others injured, it said.

Cooler weather and calmer winds in recent days have helped firefighters in California and other western states get a handle on major blazes, according to authorities.

“The weather is helping the fires to lay down and they (firefighters) are able to get better containment lines around them,” said Lynnette Round, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.

The heart of Yosemite National Park, shut for nearly three weeks due to the Ferguson Fire, was reopened to the public on Tuesday. But smoke lingered in the air and a few major roads in the park remained closed over the weekend.

There were still sporadic fires within the containment lines, Yosemite park officials said, adding that visitors should exercise caution.

The park’s closure has taken a major toll on the local economy. Some 4.3 million visitors spent an estimated $452 million last year, most of that during the summer.

While there has been progress in battling blazes nationwide, officials worry that lightning strikes in states such as Washington, Oregon and Idaho could spark more wildfires, according to Ashton Robinson Cook, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

“There are quite a few areas in the West where fuels are dry and susceptible to fire-starts and rapid fire-spread,” he said.

Wildfires have consumed nearly 5.9 million acres (2,387,650 hectares) of the United States so far this year, well above the national average for the same period over the past 10 years of 4.8 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, a monitoring agency.</s>After burning for 36 days, the Ferguson Fire finally reached full containment over the weekend, the welcomed bookend to a notoriously stubborn wildfire that killed two firefighters and threatened Yosemite National Park even as its smoke choked the entire region for weeks.

Fire officials say that that smoke will linger “for some time,” posing a persistent health risk to anyone breathing it for long periods of time. The cause of the Ferguson Fire remains under investigation.
• The Ferguson fire is nipping at the heels of this beloved Yosemite lodge

Here’s a look at the deadly and historic blaze, by the numbers:

116,900,000: dollars it cost to fight the fire

8:30: the time it was first reported on the night of Friday, July 13

828: acres it burned in the first 24 hours

600,000: approximate number of visitors that Yosemite National Park averages each July

1,000: (at least) number of campground and hotel bookings cancelled due to the Ferguson Fire

881: personnel on the fire when it was fully contained at last

3,000: (at least) firefighters assigned to the fire from all over the world

20: days Yosemite Valley was closed due to the fire’s smoke (from July 25 to Aug. 14)

1990: the previous year that Yosemite Valley was closed because of fire

33: the age of Brian Hughes, captain of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots, when he was killed fighting the Ferguson Fire

20: number of firefighters in Hughes’ unit, which is based at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

5: years of drought that, along with a bark beetle infestation, have killed off thousands of trees in the burn area, with the ground covered in highly combustible bone-dry pine needles

4,000: in feet, the elevation of Yosemite Valley’s floor

4: the number of counties the park straddles (Tuolumne, Mariposa, Mono and Madera)

1984: the year the park was designated a World Heritage Site

95: percentage of the park located in designated wilderness

31,000,000: acres in California under the responsibility of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire</s>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A deadly wildfire that has been burning for more than a month and caused closures at Yosemite National Park is now fully contained.

The Fresno Bee reports the wildfire that began July 13 and burned nearly 156 square miles (404 square kilometers) in Mariposa County was fully under the control as of Sunday night.

But officials say firefighters continue to work in the area and that some islands of unburned vegetation will continue to ignite but that there are not a threat to containment lines.

Two Firefighters were killed while battling the blaze, which overtook parts of Yosemite, the Stanislaus and Sierra National Forests.

Farther north, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for some areas in Glenn County as the biggest wildfire in California history continued to spread. The blaze has displaced people in neighboring Lake, Mendocino and Colusa counties.</s>YOSEMITE (CBS13) — After 36 days, the deadly Ferguson fire is fully contained.

The fire burned 96,901 acres near Yosemite and claimed the lives of two firefighters, Heavy Fire Equipment Operator Braden Varney and Captain Brian Hughes.

While the fire is completely contained, officials said firefighters will continue to patrol, mop-up and repair firelines.

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Resources continue to assess and remove hazard trees along roads, especially on the Wawona Road between Chinquapin and Tunnel View. The Wawona Road is expected to open on Friday at 8 a.m.

Officials say the national park is now open.</s>YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (AP) — Authorities say the body of a hiker missing since last month has been found in Yosemite National Park.

National Park Service officials announced Monday that the remains of 48-year-old Scott Tenczar, a native of San Jose, were found Saturday in a northeastern area of the park.

The cause of his death remains under investigation.

Tenczar, who was described as an experienced backpacker, was last seen at a ranger station east of Yosemite on July 25.

His was the second body found in the park in less than a week.

Authorities reported Friday that the body of a park ranger, John Cogdell, who vanished a few days earlier had been found. No other details were provided.
Yosemite National Park officials say the Ferguson Fire in California is now fully contained.