(07-29) 13:25 PDT El Portal (Mariposa County) -- , Mariposa County - A 2,600-acre wildfire chewing through bone-dry forest and grassland on the western edge of Yosemite National Park spewed smoke across campgrounds and scenic viewpoints Monday and shut down one of the main arteries into the park.

The park, including its popular valley, remained open, but officials advised visitors to be prepared for hazy skies.

Close to 800 firefighters from state, local and federal agencies were battling the El Portal Fire, which started Saturday about a mile east of the park community of Old El Portal. The community and nearby Foresta were evacuated, as were campgrounds at Crane Flat, Bridalveil Creek and Yosemite Creek.

Laurel Boyers, who has lived in Foresta since 1980, was in Los Angeles when her husband called Saturday night, saying he smelled smoke.

"He called back 45 minutes later and told me there was a wall of fire outside our house," she said.

Her husband fled, and Boyers thought the home she had lived in for more than 20 years had burned down. But about 11 p.m. the Boyers were told their house had been spared.

"At first I felt disbelief, then it was amazing relief and gratitude," she said.

Though the fire missed the Boyers' house, some neighbors weren't so lucky.

By Monday evening two homes had been destroyed and just 5 percent of the fire had been contained. The three-year drought has left the wildland unusually susceptible to combustion, so fire officials say they are trying to hit the blaze hard and fast before it reaches more homes and businesses.

The cause of the fire is unknown. No injuries have been reported.

Memories of Rim Fire

While the park remained open, access to the park by taking Highway 120 was closed because of the fire. Officials were worried about the fire rapidly moving north toward the highway after they had expended a great deal of resources protecting small communities like Foresta and Old El Portal.

Groveland was among the communities hit hard by last year's 400-square-mile Rim Fire, and residents and business owners were nervously watching this latest blaze.

The fire is 25 miles east of Groveland, but "these things have a way of moving pretty fast when they get going," said Peggy Mosley, owner of the historic Groveland Hotel.

"Honest to goodness, can you believe this?" she said. "Unreal, after what we all went through last year. But so far, this one hasn't been that bad for us - we had one guest check out a day early, but other than that we're all still open for business and doing OK."

She noted that Highway 120 is open through Groveland (it's the highway's final side road into the valley, Big Oak Flat Road, that's shut), and anyone who wants to get to Yosemite Valley from there can take side roads down to Highway 140. That road then takes visitors into the valley from a southwest approach.

The detour adds an hour to the trip. Yosemite Valley can also be accessed by Highway 41.

"You can still see the attractions, but visitors should be prepared for a little bit of smoke," said park spokeswoman Ashley Mayer.

Fire in Sierra hills

Meanwhile, about 2,000 firefighters were making progress Monday on a large wildfire that destroyed at least 13 homes and 38 outbuildings in the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento.

The wind-whipped Sand Fire broke out Friday and has raged through 3,800 acres, most of it wildland consisting of thick grasses and forest in steep river canyons in Amador and El Dorado counties.

Milder weather gave fire crews a break Monday, and commanders were able to let some firefighters go home.

Fire officials reported 75 percent containment Monday afternoon, and they expected by the end of the day to begin lifting evacuation orders that affected about 1,900 homes in and around the communities of El Dorado and Plymouth.

"Cooling temperatures, calmer winds and increasing humidity helped us a lot," said Chris Anthony, assistant chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "We made really good progress, and we expect to continue that."

The fire is believed to have been started Friday by a car driving over dry grass. The car was later found burned, and Cal Fire investigators are searching for the owner.

"The take-home message there is that conditions are so dry from the drought that people should not be driving their vehicles into dry grass," Anthony said. "It doesn't take much for a catalytic converter or exhaust pipe to get a fire going."

Drone distraction

In addition to the heat and challenging terrain, authorities faced a new concern: an airborne drone.

The private drone was being used to film footage Sunday to sell to the media, said a dispatcher with the El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services. Pilots fighting the fire from above worried that they could hit the drone and crash, and authorities ordered its owner to take it down.

The owner complied and was not cited.