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Fire Closes Highway 140 Leading to Yosemite

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(AP) A stretch of highway leading to one of the main entrances into Yosemite National Park was closed Thursday as a wildfire burned outside the park.

The blaze has consumed about 400 acres along Highway 140 since it was first reported a little before 1 p.m. Thursday, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea said.

The California Highway Patrol closed the highway for a stretch of nearly 15 miles from just outside the park entrance to an area known as the "Octagon," said CHP Officer Jesse Fouch.

The fire started just outside the park near the community of El Portal when a motor home caught fire, said Fouch. He could not say when the stretch of highway would be open to traffic again. No injuries have been reported.

No homes or structures in El Portal were considered to be threatened.

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The wildfire was burning in the Sierra National Forest, but was not within Yosemite's boundaries, said Flores.

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