Yosemite wildfire evacuations cut short summer vacations
Businesses lament losses in busy time of the year
Heavy smoke from a wildfire near Yosemite National Park is forcing hundreds of thousands of tourists to alter their plans during the height of summer vacation and hurting tourist-dependent businesses serving those seasonal visitors.
Park officials have ordered all visitors to leave Yosemite Valley, the park’s most popular area, and the closure is expected to last until at least Sunday. July usually is the secondbusiest month at Yosemite, drawing nearly 600,000 visitors to marvel at its soaring peaks, towering rock walls and wildlife. Only August is busier.
The closure, which took effect at noon Wednesday, applies to all hotels, campgrounds and visitor services in Yosemite Valley and Wawona, park officials said. An estimated 2,000 people were inside the park as of Tuesday, officials said, and all visitors were being shepherded out.
People who live in the valley for their jobs are being allowed to stay but were warned additional road closures and evacuations might happen.
“I’m going to lose $20,000, and that’s money I’ll never see again,” said Ron Skelton, who owns the Yosemite Blue Butterfly Inn just outside the park in the El Portal area. “We’re completely shut down.”
Wednesday, the park’s ordinarily busy road into the valley was devoid of nearly all cars, and heavy smoke obscured views of Half Dome, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls.
The Ferguson Fire began the night of July 13 and has spread across nearly 60 square miles of rugged forest west of the park. The fire itself poses no immediate danger to Yosemite, but the heavy smoke prompted authorities to act. Park workers are being offered air purifiers, and the government is setting up “clean rooms” to provide respite to people af- fected by the smoke and who cannot easily leave the area.
Tuesday morning, visitors Brad Lyons and Courtney Richard stopped for photos at Tunnel View, the spot where park visitors typically can take in Yosemite Valley and its famous landmarks, including El Capitan and Half Dome. The pair had traveled from St. Louis and Tulsa to visit the park for the first time, and as they stood at the edge of Tunnel View, they could hardly make out the far-reaching mountains, which they said eerily resembled ghost ships in the distance.
What was going to be a three-day visit was quickly shortened as Yosemite Valley filled with smoke and ash.
“When we saw that the visitors center was closed, we knew it had to be bad,” Lyons said.
Skelton’s lodge has been shut down for several days, in part because some area roads are closed so firefighters can move around better. Skelton said he understands why the road closures are needed but wondered why the whole area was being evacuated. A former volunteer firefighter, Skelton said he has seen far worse conditions.
“The closures are getting worse. The fire’s not getting worse,” he said. “I’ve seen worse smoke in El Portal. It’s not that bad. And it’s certainly not that bad in the valley.”