Holiday trips on hold because of Sierra fire

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With the last big travel weekend of the summer arriving, some nervous tourists are keeping an eye on the huge Sierra Nevada wildfire, wondering whether it will interfere with their travel plans to destinations like Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe.

Those who keep their hard-to-get Labor Day lodging reservations in Yosemite will enjoy a pleasant surprise: stunning views of the towering granite icons Half Dome and El Capitan with less of the usual holiday congestion.

The park has seen some reservation cancellations and some nearby mountain communities have had a serious drop-off in business due to the 315-square-mile Rim Fire, which was 32 percent contained this morning. More than 20,000 acres of the fire are along the northern edge of the national park.

But 20 miles upwind in Yosemite Valley, the sky is clear and not even the scent of smoke is in the air.

Park officials expect about 3,000 cars a day to pass through gates this weekend instead of the nearly 5,000 that might typically show on the holiday. Most of the missing will be day tourists, not folks who have waited months and even years for a campsite along the Merced River or a room at the historic Ahwahnee Lodge.