Some Yosemite camping reservations being canceled due to Washburn Fire

Campers who have existing reservations to spend a few nights in Yosemite National Park will need to double check that their planned visits haven't fallen victim to cancellations due to a fire raging near one of the park's most popular camping sites.

On Monday, many reservations were canceled and refunded due to a partial closure of the national park due to the Washburn Fire which continues to rage within the park's boundaries.

Included in the closure is the popular Wawona Campground which is located along the South Fork Merced River in the southern end of the park, about 45 minutes from Yosemite Valley.

The site is popular for campers because of its close proximity to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Unfortunately, those trees are at the center of a firefight raging at Yosemite as firefighters battle to protect the ancient trees.

As of Monday evening, the fire had burned about 2,720 acres, but firefighters were finally able to gain some containment around the blaze, which currently stands around 22%.

The Mariposa Grove is currently outfitted with a sprinkler system to aid in providing moisture to the trees, and officials say so far none of the "named trees" have been damaged, including the famous 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant tree.

Still, the Mariposa Grove and

much of the area surrounding the Giant Sequoias is closed off due to the fire including both the campground and Wawona Road, aka, Highway 41. The closure will be in place from Thursday, July 14 through at least Thursday, July 21.

This year, Yosemite required all camping reservations to be completed online through Recreation.gov. Wawona was the first campground to open for online reservations.

Recreation.gov began providing refunds for campers who booked the Wawona campground at Yosemite National Park which is currently in the heart of a brush fire battle

The refund notices included an explanation for the closure that reads in part: "The experience and wellbeing of visitors is our top priority, and we apologize for any inconvenience with this location closure. Thank you again for your understanding."

Despite the closure, the majority of the park and its 12 other campgrounds remain open to the public. Of those 12 remaining campground, half include reservable spots and the other half are entirely on a first-come basis. Same-day reservations are not available at any of the campgrounds.

A reservation will also be required to drive into Yosemite National Park between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. through September 30, for those without a campground reservation.

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