By admin 
Fire crews expect to have full containment of Yosemite’s Dome Fire by the end of the week.
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The wildfire has been slow burning for a full month near the community of Wawona and Chilnualna Falls at the park’s southern entrance. It has now burned 6,788 acres, closed a section of the park (including multiple trails and a major tourist roadway) and caused the deaths of two firefighting personnel, helicopter pilots Greg King and Ryan Cutter.
But over the last week, the fire made minimal progression, burning within its established perimeters.
Meanwhile, containment has doubled, to 86% as of Tuesday.
The estimated containment date is now listed as Oct. 17 on the Dome Fire’s incident information page at inciweb.wildfire.gov.
Containment, usually expressed as a percentage, refers to the amount of wildfire’s perimeter that is surrounded by control lines designed to stop a fire’s spread. A contained fire is completely encircled (including any spot fires), with further spread deemed unlikely.
This differs from a controlled fire, which is fully contained and extinguished along the interior of the control line. It is not clear when the Dome Fire will be fully controlled.
Glacier Point Road reopens
But Firefighting efforts are ramping down.
Glacier Point Road reopened to public traffic on Saturday and the California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is scheduled to transfer command of the fire back to Yosemite National Park on Thursday.
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On Tuesday, fire activity remained minimal, “any visible smoke is coming from interior pockets of heat.”
Crews on the fire’s east side did patrol and mop up while mule trains and helicopters removed hose and equipment from remote wilderness areas. Suppression repair work is being done to “restore ground disturbed during firefighting operations,” and reduce the potential for erosion. This includes pulling back berms to match the natural terrain and scattering vegetation “to help disguise the lines and limit water erosion,” according to a final operational update released on Tuesday.
Air quality updates for Yosemite, surrounding communities
Smoke impacts from the fire have improved across Yosemite as the fire activity slows.
The air quality index for Yosemite Valley, Yosemite West, Mariposa, Wawona and El Portal were all listed as good for Tuesday into Wednesday, where it is expected to remain through the week.
This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 4:30 PM with the headline “Dome Fire could be nearing its end after burning for weeks in Yosemite National Park.”
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