By admin 
The National Park Service just gave a hint to one possible cause of the Dome Fire, which has been burning near the southern entrance to Yosemite since last week.
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Officially, the cause of the fire is under investigation, per daily updates online.
But, the park service on Tuesday, put out a request for information from anyone who was in the area of Chilnualna Falls from Sept. 9-15, specifically if they “witnessed anyone with a campfire.”
The Dome Fire closed down a section of the park that includes the Chilnualna Falls trail and some believe the fire may have started near the trailhead.
This would have been an illegal campfire.
Fire restrictions have been in place in the park since Aug. 1 for elevations at or below 8,000 feet, according to the park service.
Tips can be submitted by phone at 888-653-0009, online at go.nps.gov/SubmitATip or via email at [email protected].
So far, the fire has moved from the backcountry near Chilnualna Falls north into the footprint of 2017’s Empire Fire. That fire burned more than 160 days over some 8,000 acres. The Dome Fire sits at 3,660 acres and has caused the death of two helicopter pilots fighting the fire.
Pilots identified
Greg King and Ryan Cutter were flying a Eurocopter AS32 as part of firefighting operations to battle the Dome Fire, burning near Wawona at the southern entrance of Yosemite. They were conducting water drops out of Ostrander Lake when the crash occurred.
The remains of both men were retrieved on Monday and carried in procession out of the park and to Modesto, where they would be transported to final destinations.
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The pilots were contracted through Oregon company Fly Precision, which confirmed their identities on social media Wednesday.
“These two men brought honor to the mission. Their dedication and service will never be forgotten. Rest in peace.”
King, was a pilot from Alaska, who was remembered as “a cherished member of our wildland fire family, having served on wildland fires in Alaska and extensively alongside the Division of Forestry and Fire Protection.”
“King’s ties to our agency run deep, with close loved ones currently employed with our Division,” the agency wrote in a statement Tuesday.
Cutter was a resident of Park City, Utah, and a pilot for the CBS news station KUTV in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
“He piloted ‘Sky 2,’ flying news crews around Utah and operating from the helipads on top of the Wells Fargo Building in downtown Salt Lake City,” according to the station’s meteorologist, posting to Facebook. “My thoughts are with Ryan’s family, friends, fellow pilots, firefighters and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him, working alongside him or learning from him. His impact will not be forgotten.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 3:35 PM with the headline “Did the National Park Service just hint at a possible cause of Yosemite’s Dome Fire?.”