Heart of Yosemite closes as crews battle raging fire
LOS ANGELES — Campsites and lodges emptied out after disappointed tourists were ordered to leave the heart of Yosemite National Park by noon Wednesday, as firefighters battled to contain a huge wildfire to the west that threatens the park’s forest and sent up smoke that obscured grand vistas of waterfalls and sheer granite faces.
Yosemite Valley will be closed until at least Sunday, along with a winding, mountainous 32-kilometre stretch of California’s State Route 41, park spokesperson Scott Gediman said.
At least 1,000 campground and hotel bookings will be cancelled — to say nothing of the impact on day visitors, park workers and small businesses along the highway, Gediman said. Rangers went to campsites one at a time to inform visitors of the shutdown. Hotels guests got phone calls and notes on their doors.
“This is the prime visitor season, so this wasn’t an easy decision to make,” Gediman said. “This was purely for safety’s sake.”
Officials pointed out that Yosemite wasn’t under imminent danger from the Ferguson Fire. Authorities decided on the closing to allow crews to perform protective measures such as burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park, visited by four million people annually.
The last time the 12-kilometrelong glacial valley was closed because of fire was 1990, he said.
Yosemite Valley has been enveloped by a choking haze of smoke from the Ferguson Fire.
Over nearly two weeks, flames have churned through more than 148 square kilometres of timber in steep terrain of the Sierra Nevada just west of the park. The fire was just 25 per cent contained Tuesday.
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 blaze, aided by 16 helicopters. One firefighter has died and six others were injured.