Yosemite filled with smoke from massive Creek Fire burning in Sierra - SF Gate

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News // California Wildfires

Katie Dowd, SFGATE

Sep. 6, 2020Updated: Sep. 6, 2020 8:51 a.m.

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The Turtleback Dome webcam at Yosemite National Park on Sept. 6, 2020 shows yellow skies due to the Creek Fire.

Yosemite National ParkShow MoreShow Less

2of4Smoke from the Creek Fire billows beyond a ridge as seen from Huntington Lake on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, at Huntington Lake, Calif. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/APShow MoreShow Less

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Smoke obscures the view of Yosemite Falls on Sept. 6, 2020 due to the Creek Fire.

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4of4A family from Ventura County watches, from the shore of Shaver Lake, the billowing smoke from the Creek Fire, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, northeast of Fresno, Calif. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)Eric Paul Zamora/APShow MoreShow Less

A fast-moving wildfire in the Sierra National Forest, which exploded so quickly Saturday that trapped vacationers needed helicopter rescues, is sending billowing smoke throughout the region.

The Creek Fire, burning south of Yosemite, began Friday evening and was raging by Saturday afternoon. It moved so fast that campers became trapped around Mammoth Pool Campground. The fire trapped campers Saturday at a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest. Of the 63 people rescued, two were severely injured, 10 were moderately injured and 51 others had minor or no injuries, according to a tweet by the Fresno Fire Department.

“Aircraft are returning to continue rescue operations,” the agency posted at 10 p.m. Saturday. “Unknown how many more.”

The wildfire burning near Shaver Lake jumped the San Joaquin River and compromised the only road into the Mammoth Pool Campground, national forest spokesman Dan Tune said. At least 2,000 structures were threatened in the area. The Creek Fire is 45,000 acres and 0% contained as of Sunday morning.

The fire sent huge plumes of smoke into the air, affecting the air quality for miles around and turning the sky a sickly orange. Visitors to Yosemite National Park on Saturday recorded video of the eerie sight:

View of wildfires from Sentinel Dome in Yosemite at ~8,100 feet. It was about 3pm. #creekfire #wildfires #YosemiteNationalPark pic.twitter.com/ZixKy8JXpf

— Naureen Malik (@naurtorious) September 6, 2020

The air quality in Yosemite was better Sunday morning, as winds picked up. Unfortunately, that wind is contributing to difficult fire-fighting conditions coupled with the extreme heat California is currently experiencing.

Today I was flying from San Jose to Las Vegas on SWA & I looked out my window & I saw this cloud. I l found out that it is a cumulonimbus flammagenitus cloud aka pyrocumulonimbus cloud, a type of cloud that forms above a source of heat, such as a wildfire #CreekFire pic.twitter.com/HCqyWiHpNx

— Thalia Dockery (@SweetBrown_Shug) September 6, 2020

The latest information on the fire can be found here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Katie on

Katie Dowd is the managing editor for SFGATE.

Before being hired at SFGATE in 2011, Katie was the sports editor for the Daily Californian, the student paper at UC Berkeley, where she currently serves on the board.

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