Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Fire near Yosemite park hurts tourist business

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Vendors along one of the main roads leading to Yosemite National Park this summer were finally seeing business turn around following a rock slide that kept tour buses away for the previous two years.

That was before a massive wildfire closed the highway and sent towering plumes of smoke and ash over one of the nation's most celebrated wilderness areas.

"It's like we just get on our feet and they kick the stool out from under us," said Donna Santi, a gift shop clerk in Mariposa. "Still, the business will survive. We're more worried about the residents."