The road, first closed on Wednesday, reopened briefly Thursday morning before being closed again later in the day. Eighty-six large wildfires are burning across the West. Yellowstone remained open and accessible through other entrances. Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness prompted the U.S. Forest Service to halt public access to the renowned Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Idaho's largest blaze is the Clear Creek fire, which has charred 141,589 acres so far and is only 30 percent contained.
Evacuations continue as more blazes flare up.
The danger extended to Alaska, although no wildfires have been reported there yet. The active fires ripping through forest, brush and grass, mostly in the western United States show no signs of slowing. Until we get a change in our weather patterns, we're going to see fires.