Yosemite National Park Is Closed Indefinitely
By Admin on August 6, 2018
(Photo by Terray Sylvester/Getty Images)
Yosemite National Park was evacuated last week for a few days because of the wildfires. While it did reopen, it was then closed again. And now, the park will remain closed indefinitely as the Ferguson Fire continues to grow. According to KCRA , 89,633 acres have burned since the fire started last month. As of yesterday, it the Ferguson Fire was only at 35 percent containment. Additionally, it has reached some remote areas of Yosemite National Park.
So far, this is the longest closure of the park since 1997. Apparently, floods caused it to be closed for two months then. There are some areas of the park that are open to cars and visitors; Tioga Road from Tioga Pass to White Wolf, as well as the Tuolumne Meadows Campground.
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Yosemite Valley and other Sections of the Park Remain Closed Indefinitely Due to Impacts from the Ferguson Fire Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Road Remain Open from U.S. 395 Due to increased fire activity in the areas adjacent to and on Yosemite National Park, park administrators and fire managers have made the decision to extend the current park closures indefinitely. Fire managers are continuously assessing conditions in the area and will work directly with and will immediately advise park managers as conditions change and it becomes safe to reopen. Firefighters remain committed to fully suppressing this fire and are actively engaged, taking action to limit the fire’s spread when it is safe to do so. The fire activity inside Yosemite National Park is dynamic. Over the past 48 hours, fire has impacted all of the roads used to access Yosemite Valley, burning dead and downed trees that can become very explosive and fall without warning. There are also significant terrain hazards for firefighters. These hazards, along with extreme fire behavior and frequent weather changes, have made this an extremely difficult fire fight. The following areas remain closed: Yosemite Valley, El Portal Road, Wawona Road, Big Oak Flat Road, Glacier Point, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias, Wawona Campground, Crane Flat Campground, Tamarack Campground, and several other sections of the Park. A large portion of Yosemite National Park remains open. Tioga Road from Tioga Pass to White Wolf is open to all visitors and vehicles. Most of the trails and campgrounds along this route, including the Tuolumne Meadows Campground are open. Visitor services along Tioga Road, including the High Sierra Camps and the Tuolumne Meadows Store are open. The Gateway communities of Sonora, Groveland, Mariposa, Oakhurst, and Lee Vining are great places to recreate and offer a wide variety of opportunities. Please contact the local visitor centers to learn about recreational opportunities in the Gateway communities. #Yosemite #NationalPark
A post shared by Yosemite National Park (@yosemitenps) on Aug 5, 2018 at 4:25pm PDT