"It's the views that are really disappointing," said Karen Brown, a 45-year-old mother of two from Phoenix. "We do two major trips a year and this was one of them. It's not like we can shoot back here in a month."
Brown said her family was packing up a day early to avoid suffering irritated eyes and sore throats. Still, many travelers said they were gladly staying put.
Patricio Aguirre, 48, from the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, smiled as his wife and children marveled, through a white haze, at Half Dome's imposing shoulder.
"It's a great shame because we know what's burning now won't regenerate for many years," Aguirre said, as he climbed into the family's rented minivan. "My children laugh at me, but I tell them they have to see the good in this. It's not every day one can see Yosemite burn."
Authorities said Tuesday the blaze had charred more than 46 square miles of steep, rugged terrain since a target shooter sparked the wildfire Friday.
It has also forced the evacuation of 350 homes in the towns of Midpines and Coulterville, gateway communities whose businesses rely on tourist dollars.
Fire crews are expected to get some help from a slight drop in temperature, which was forecast to remain in the high 80s Tuesday, accompanied by low humidity and afternoon winds, the National Weather Service said.
At summer's peak, as many as 4,000 visitors a day stream into the park, and rangers expect the fire will keep very few people away.
Officials with DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, which manages restaurants and lodging in the park, said only about 2 percent of all overnight guests have asked for refunds since Saturday, when fire destroyed the transmission line that fed power to Yosemite.
Hotels, stores and most restaurants in the park have remained open, but have been operating on generators. Tuesday, 245 guest rooms at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls remained without power, and lodge staff were handing out flashlights and offering free hot showers at nearby Curry Village.
"We're seeing a few people departing maybe because they have health concerns about the air quality, but virtually everyone's staying in the park," said Kenny Karst, a spokesman for the concessionaire. "Our main message is we're open. The stables are open, we've got river rafting, and we're leading all kinds of hikes and trips to the backcountry."
Visitors seeking to enter the park from the west were turned around Tuesday, when authorities temporarily shut down a 10-mile stretch of Highway 140 to keep flames from leaping across the Merced River canyon. Limited electricity was restored Tuesday in the community of El Portal, near the park's western boundary.
The western gate itself remained open for nearby residents and visitors staying near the park entrance. Other entrances to the park were also open.
Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the person who ignited a wildfire last month that destroyed 87 homes in and around the town of Paradise.
The fire contributed to at least one death, an elderly woman who suffered a heart attack while evacuating.
In Montana, crews dug lines Tuesday around a 5,900-acre wildfire threatening Red Lodge, a ski town 60 miles southwest of Billings. The fire was about eight miles from town, and about two miles from the Red Lodge Mountain Resort.
About 90 homes were ordered to evacuate and authorities warned that such orders could come for another 200 homes at any time.
