Heart of Yosemite National Park to Close as Firefighters Battle Ferguson Fire; Mandatory Evacuations in Place | The Weather Channel
2 hours ago Associated Press
At a Glance
- Yosemite Valley will close for at least four days beginning Wednesday because of a nearby wildfire.
- The last time this valley was closed because of fire was 1990.
- Mandatory evacuations are in place in several communities.
The heart of Yosemite National Park, where throngs of tourists are awe-struck by cascading waterfalls and towering granite features like El Capitan and Half Dome, will be closed as firefighters try to corral a huge wildfire just to the west that has cast a smoky pall and threatened the park's forest, officials said Tuesday.
Yosemite Valley will be closed for at least four days beginning at noon Wednesday, along with a winding, mountainous, 20-mile stretch of State Route 41, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. The closure is expected to last through Sunday.
At least 1,000 campground and hotel bookings will be canceled — to say nothing of the impact on day visitors, park workers and small businesses along the highway, Gediman added. Additional evacuations were ordered near the north side of the park on Wednesday.
"If you don't need to be here,
go somewhere else," park ranger Scott Gediman told Express. "That's our message to employees and visitors. It's not something we take lightly. We've been keeping things going the past few days."
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The last time the 7.5-mile-long valley was closed because of fire was 1990, he said.
Yosemite wasn't under imminent danger from the Ferguson Fire, officials were quick to point out. Authorities decided on the closure to allow crews to perform protective measures like burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park that welcomes 4 million visitors annually.
Yosemite Valley is the centerpiece of the visitor experience, offering views of landmarks such as Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Bridal Veil Fall, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. The glacial valley's grand vista of waterfalls and shear granite faces has been obscured by a choking haze of smoke from a nearby fire.
Visitors are advised to "limit activity during the periods of poor air quality," the park said in a statement. "Some facilities and services are closed or diminished."
Over nearly two weeks, flames have churned through more than 60 square miles of timber in steep terrain of the Sierra Nevada just west of the park. The fire was 25 percent contained Wednesday morning.
Mandatory evacuations are in place in several communities, while others have been told to get ready to leave if necessary.
More than 3,300 firefighters are working the fire, aided by 16 helicopters. One firefighter was killed July 14, and six others have been injured.
Gediman suggested valley visitors divert to Tuolumne Meadows, on Yosemite's northern edge, or to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to the south.
"There are wonderful places to visit in the region, so we're asking people to consider alternative plans," he said.
In the state's far north, a nearly 4-square-mile wildfire has forced the evacuation of French Gulch, a small Shasta County community that dates to the Gold Rush.
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