The Ferguson Fire is now burning in Yosemite National Park, as fire officials had anticipated.
KQED radio and the San Jose Mercury News quote a Yosemite spokesman as saying the fire has moved into the community of Wawona within the park.
That community was evacuated Wednesday evening as the fire pushed east. KQED radio in San Francisco reports that crews have been conducting back-firing operations and building containment lines in preparation.
The fire was 41 percent contained as of 7 a.m. Friday. The National Weather Service says travel along US Highway 395 in California will be hampered this weekend, with smoke expected to settle in throughout the Owens Valley.
The valley is currently seeing some smoke from the Ferguson Fire, but between sundown Friday night and 3 a.m. Saturday the smoke is likely to be much more dense along highway 395 running south of Lee Vining near Yosemite to within about thirty miles of Ridgecrest.
