Crews continue to make good progress in containing a dwindling blaze about 55 miles east-northeast of Madera, a U.S. Forest Service update reported this week.
As such, some areas shut down due to the Aspen fire are scheduled to reopen. Stump Springs Road and Sample Meadow Campground within the Sierra National Forest should reopen today, the update said, after the conflagration threatened the areas for several weeks since it began from a lightning strike on July 22.
For several weeks, steep terrain made it difficult for crews to combat the rampaging inferno as it spread throughout the forest and scorched more than 22,500 acres of land, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The cost of fighting the fire reached $30.2 million Friday said Linda Slater, public information officer with the service...