Photo: Inmate firefighters battle the Ferguson fire in Jerseydale, California, on July 22, 2018 (NOAH BERGER) | ©AFP

Los Angeles (AFP) – The fire threatening Yosemite National Park in California raged through the weekend, growing in size to nearly 34,000 acres, authorities said Monday.

“Weather forecasts are calling for hotter and drier air throughout the week as conditions align for critical and extreme fire weather in the coming days,” InciWeb, an inter-agency incident reporting site, said.

InciWeb said the so-called Ferguson fire was 13 percent contained, an improvement over Friday when it was only seven percent contained.

Two DC-10 tanker planes and 46 helicopters have been used to slow the spread of the fire, while firefighters on the ground were working with heavy equipment to protect Yosemite National Park, which is east of the fire.

Yosemite, a popular tourist destination, remains open. But several areas nearby are under mandatory evacuation orders, InciWeb said.

Since the fire broke out in the Sierra Nevada mountains July 13 a 36-year-old firefighter has died and six others have been injured.

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