To get to French Meadows you have to take some winding roads along the mountain side.  I went during all the fires, and it was very smoky, which made it seem like I was driving out there at dusk.  It was a little unnerving on some parts!  But once I got to there, it was definitely worth the drive!  There was not a lot of people there, which made it seem like a very private campground.  The site I stayed was pretty big with lots of options for setting up the tent.  It was easy to get to the water from my site.  The downside for me, was that my site was by the toilets, and people could not figure how to not slam the door in the middle of the night.  The camp host was good, he stopped by each day to do a check in and kept me updated on weather (lightening storms!), fire conditions and possible evacuations.