A wildfire burning along Highway 140 near El Portal, California has forced a full closure of one of the main roads into Yosemite National Park, according to Cal Fire’s incident report. The blaze, named the Colorado Fire, broke out around September 1, 2026, and had grown to roughly 200 acres with zero percent containment at the time it was reported.
Key Points
- The Colorado Fire ignited along Highway 140 near El Portal on or around September 1, 2026.
- Highway 140 is fully closed between Cedar Lodge and Midpines, cutting off one of Yosemite’s primary entrance routes.
- Evacuation orders are in effect for the Briceburg and Rancheria Creek Road area.
- The fire had burned approximately 200 acres and remained at 0% containment as of the latest report.
- Yosemite National Park itself remains open, with the National Park Service confirming other entrances are unaffected by the closure.
Highway 140 is one of the most heavily used routes into Yosemite, particularly for travelers coming from the west via Merced, and it typically stays open even during smaller regional wildfires that burn well outside the park’s boundaries. This closure is different because it sits directly on the corridor itself, between Cedar Lodge and Midpines, rather than in the surrounding backcountry.
The evacuation orders covering Briceburg and Rancheria Creek Road affect residents and property along that stretch of the Merced River canyon, an area fire crews are treating as an immediate priority given the fire’s proximity to homes and the highway corridor. With containment still at zero percent, conditions along the fire line remain fluid, and the closure could extend depending on how crews are able to establish control lines over the coming days.
For anyone with travel plans, the most important detail is that Yosemite National Park has not closed. Park officials have confirmed the park remains accessible through its other entrances even while Highway 140 stays shut between Cedar Lodge and Midpines. Travelers heading to Yosemite from the west should plan for alternate routing, such as Highway 120 from the north or Highway 41 from the south, and should check current conditions before departing, since road status near an active fire can change quickly as containment efforts progress.
Wildfires near national parks in late summer and early fall are not unusual in California, but closures that hit a direct access highway rather than remote terrain tend to have an outsized effect on visitor planning. Officials are expected to provide containment updates as crews continue working the fire line.
