A deadly wildfire near Yosemite National Park shrouded the popular destination in smoke and left some tourist-dependent businesses hurting Monday, but visitors still braved trails, campgrounds, lodges and restaurants in the California park, officials said.
Flames from the Ferguson Fire burn down a hillside in unincorporated Mariposa County Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Sunday, July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Amenities were open and visitors posted photos on social media as they hiked in smoky conditions, but the growing flames shut down a key route into the park at the peak of tourist season. A stretch of State Route 140 has been closed since the weekend, and drivers have been urged to find alternate ways into the park.
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Flames from the Ferguson Fire burn down a hillside in unincorporated Mariposa County Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Sunday, July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A plane battling the Ferguson Fire passes the setting sun in unincorporated Mariposa County Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Sunday, July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A fire transport drives along Highway 140, one of the entrances to Yosemite National Park, on Monday, July 16, 2018, in Mariposa, Calif. The road remains closed as crews battle a deadly wildfire burning near the west end of Yosemite National Park. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A fire truck, part of a procession carrying the body of firefighter Braden Varney, makes its way along Highway 140 on Monday, July 16, 2018, in Mariposa, Calif. Varney died when his bulldozer overturned as he battled the Ferguson fire. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Charles Phillips waits for a procession carrying the body of firefighter Braden Varney on Monday, July 16, 2018, in Mariposa, Calif. Varney died Saturday while battling the Ferguson fire when his bulldozer overturned. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
"All the campgrounds and the hotels are open — the shuttles are running," Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said. "We have limited visibility, but aside from that, the park is open and fully operational."
Time-lapse video by the Yosemite Conservancy, a group that supports the park, shows billowing smoke enveloping and completely obscuring Half Dome, an iconic rock formation. Park webcams showed other landmarks, such as the El Capitan rock formation, concealed by thick plumes of smoke.
A plane battling the Ferguson Fire passes the setting sun in unincorporated Mariposa County Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Sunday, July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Businesses along the highway in Mariposa, a town popular with park visitors, have taken a hit, though the flames haven't reached them.
Gopal Das, the owner of a Quality Inn, said at least 50 people have called to cancel their reservations since Sunday.
"We'll lose that revenue," Das said. "Since it's a fire hazard, it is something beyond everybody's control, and that means we won't be able to charge them for late cancellations. It could result in thousands of dollars in losses."
Tourists also dealt with road closures last summer, when a fire threatened Mariposa and forced evacuations.
A trickle of people visited the Sierra Artists' Gallery, but it was still better than last year, when Mariposa was a ghost town, said Marjorie D'Esposito, a gallery volunteer.
"Nobody is buying," she said. "I don't think they're really interested in buying artwork right now."
The blaze scorching dry brush along steep, remote hillsides doubled to 14 square miles (36 kilometers) and was largely burning out of control, U.S. Forest Service spokesman John DeYoe said.
Inaccessible terrain and temperatures spiking to 95 degrees (35 Celsius) made it difficult for crews to slow the blaze that started Friday. More fire engines were expected to arrive to try to stop the flames from reaching more than 100 homes and commercial buildings that are threatened, DeYoe said.
Evacuations were ordered over the weekend for the Yosemite Cedar Lodge, which is outside the park, and in nearby communities as flames crept up slopes and the air became thick with smoke.
A fire transport drives along Highway 140, one of the entrances to Yosemite National Park, on Monday, July 16, 2018, in Mariposa, Calif. The road remains closed as crews battle a deadly wildfire burning near the west end of Yosemite National Park. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Danette Moreno, 64, said she, her husband and their dog left their home in Mariposa Pines shortly after midnight Sunday and went to a shelter. The couple retired to their home about five years ago from the Los Angeles area and said they had seen three fires in that time, but this was the first time they had to evacuate.
"My attitude is never 'Why me?'" Moreno told the Merced-Sun Star newspaper. "It's out of our hands."
A firefighter driving a bulldozer died early Saturday as he worked to keep the flames from extending into a nearby community, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
A fire truck, part of a procession carrying the body of firefighter Braden Varney, makes its way along Highway 140 on Monday, July 16, 2018, in Mariposa, Calif. Varney died when his bulldozer overturned as he battled the Ferguson fire. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Crews retrieved the body of heavy fire equipment operator Braden Varney, 36, on Monday after he died in steep, rugged terrain, Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean said. Firefighters took turns keeping vigil near Varney's body and saluted as it was taken to a coroner's office in a procession that included firetrucks and sheriff's vehicles.
Workplace safety officials are investigating Varney's death and will look for any violations related to his training or the maintenance of the bulldozer, said Frank Polizzi, a spokesman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Polizzi said his office was told that Varney's bulldozer rolled over.
Varney, who was married with two young children, had worked for Cal Fire for 10 years.
The wildfire that killed Varney is one of several burning across the state and among 56 large blazes that are active in the U.S., most in the American West, a region struggling with drought and heat.
Charles Phillips waits for a procession carrying the body of firefighter Braden Varney on Monday, July 16, 2018, in Mariposa, Calif. Varney died Saturday while battling the Ferguson fire when his bulldozer overturned. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron painted a veneer of European unity by inviting a small number of handpicked European leaders to the Élysée Palace, while the Trump administration sidelined the continent by moving ahead with direct negotiations on Tuesday with Russia on the war in Ukraine. But beneath the diplomatic pageantry, cracks in European consensus were hard to ignore.
One question loomed: Could Europe take charge of its own security, or would it remain reactive to U.S. and Russian decisions?
From Macron’s push for European-led defense to Keir Starmer’s “third way” diplomacy, Giorgia Meloni’s balancing act between Brussels and Washington, and Olaf Scholz ’s resistance to breaking with NATO, Europe remains divided on its next move.
By hosting the Monday summit in his Parisian palace, Macron reinforced his image of the imperial French ‘Sun King’ and his bid to become the dominant voice on Ukraine and European security. With Germany’s Scholz politically weakened and potentially soon out of office, the U.K. outside the EU, and Italy leaning toward Trump, Macron has emerged as the bloc’s de facto leader in a push for strategic autonomy.
With a presidential mandate until 2027 and France’s nuclear arsenal making it Europe’s only atomic power, Macron has positioned himself as the only politician with both the ambition and authority to act. His proposal for a European-led security force in Ukraine, even in a limited training and logistics role, fits into his broader push for a continent less dependent on Washington.
But forging consensus is proving difficult: Germany is resisting, key frontline EU nations were left out of the summit, and Trump’s unpredictability clouds Europe’s security outlook.
“Macron has sought to impose himself as Europe’s strongman,” said French political analyst Jean-Yves Camus.
Keir Starmer is charting a different course, positioning himself as Europe’s key link to Washington — while maintaining a firm pro-Ukraine stance.
Having met Trump before the election —“I like him a lot,” the U.S. president said — the British prime minister is set to travel to Washington next week in what some see as an effort to bridge the U.S.-Europe divide, and a hallmark of the “ special relationship.”
While Trump moves toward de-escalation in Ukraine, Starmer is doubling down on support for Kyiv, stating the U.K. is “ready and willing” to send British troops if necessary. This stance stands in contrast to Macron and Scholz’s more cautious approach.
Starmer’s surprising decision not to sign a key international declaration on the future of AI last week — aligning with the U.S. rather than the EU — has raised questions about whether Britain is shifting closer to Washington on broader geopolitical issues.
“The U.K. is unique in that it’s practically the only major ally that Trump hasn’t purposefully antagonized since his inauguration,” said Anand Sundar, a special advisor at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The Starmer government is doing everything it can to not put a target on its back.”
Some analysts suggest Starmer is positioning himself as Trump’s European ‘whisperer,’ able to influence the White House while staying in step with Europe.
Giorgia Meloni, a Trump ally and the only leader of a major European economy to attend his inauguration in January, arrived late to the Paris summit and left without making a public statement — moves observers saw as signs of skepticism toward the meeting.
According to Italian news agency ANSA, Meloni questioned why the summit was held in Paris rather than Brussels, the EU’s natural decision-making hub, and criticized the exclusion of frontline states such as the Baltic nations, Sweden, and Finland.
At the summit, she pushed back against deploying European troops to Ukraine, calling it “the most complex and least effective option” - especially without firm security guarantees for Kyiv.
Observers noted that Meloni echoed some of U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of Europe’s reliance on U.S. protection. “We shouldn’t be asking what the Americans can do for us, but what we must do for ourselves,” she said, according to ANSA.
Despite her skepticism, Meloni still engaged in the talks, bringing Italy’s concerns over long-term European military commitments to the table.
Notably absent from the Paris talks was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close Trump ally and frequent critic of EU policies.
While no official reason was given for his exclusion, some observers saw it as a pointed message from Paris and its European allies about the limits of engagement with leaders seen as too closely aligned with Trump’s worldview.
If Macron is stepping forward, Scholz is pushing back.
At the summit, the German Chancellor rejected Macron’s proposal for a European-led security force in Ukraine, calling it “completely premature” and “highly inappropriate” given the ongoing war.
Scholz didn’t hide his frustration, saying he was “a little irritated” that peacekeeping forces were even being discussed “at the wrong time.” He insisted NATO — not an independent European force — must remain the foundation of security.
Due to its historical legacy from the world wars, some argue that Germany has always been willing to cede European security leadership to France, a role the French have pursued since President Charles de Gaulle.
At the same time, the debate over military spending is intensifying, as NATO officials stress the alliance’s 2% GDP target is now a baseline rather than a cap.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks out of her car window as she leaves the Elysee Palace, after an informal meeting of leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom, in Paris, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center left, walks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center right, as she leaves the Elysee Palace, after an informal meeting of leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom, in Paris, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center right, walks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center left, as she leaves the Elysee Palace, after an informal meeting of leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom, in Paris, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center right, walks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center left, as she leaves the Elysee Palace, after an informal meeting of leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom, in Paris, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)