Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

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maverick
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Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by maverick »

ABC 30:
According to officials, parts of Yosemite National Park will be closing due to the Ferguson Fire.
At a public meeting park officials said that Highway 41, the Yosemite Valley and Wawona will close by noon on Wednesday. Visitors and people camping in the park are being asked to leave.
Yosemite NP page, Yosemite Facebook, nor the emergency notification I usually get have indicated this, so I have contacted my sources to get clarification, will post when I hear back asap.
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by paula53 »

The Fresno Bee just confirmed this. Sad. Unhealthy air and hazardous conditions.
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by maverick »

The Fresno Bee just confirmed this. Sad. Unhealthy air and hazardous conditions.
Yes, thanks Paula, but I like getting confirmation by the NPS, news media is not always reliable, which I did receive 5 minutes ago, further details will be coming soon.
Smoke is very bad, N95 masks are being given to NP employees.


Here it is, the official word:
Yosemite National Park announces Yosemite Valley and Wawona will close at Noon tomorrow, July 25, 2018, to all visitors due to the ongoing impacts of the Ferguson Fire. These closures include all hotels, campgrounds, and visitor services in Yosemite Valley and Wawona. Park visitors currently staying in park campgrounds and lodging facilities are asked to be out of these areas by Noon tomorrow. With the ongoing closure of Highway 140, park visitors can exit the park via Highways 120 and 41. The temporary closure is expected to last until Sunday, July 29, 2018. The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is closed.

Since the fire began on Friday, July 13, several other park facilities and roads have been closed due to fire impacts and the need to support firefighting operations. These closures include the Glacier Point Road, Bridalveil Creek Campground, the Wawona Campground, the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias and others. .

Highways 120 West and East, and the Tuolumne Meadows area remain open at this time.

The park will continue to work with the Incident Management Team and assess conditions day by day.

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call 209-372-0200, press 1 and press 1 again. Updated information is also available onthe park’s website at http://www.nps.gov/yose
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by SSSdave »

Despite all the miserable smoke, one can bet some clueless people have actually been trying to enter the park and not a few already there with say campground reservations or lodging reservations have been stubbornly staying. Many park employees no doubt complained as they certainly would want to get away from the smoke after breathing it for days even if they lose pay in the process. Would be interesting to read why some still in the park did not leave days ago.
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by happycamper0313 »

Despite all the miserable smoke, one can bet some clueless people have actually been trying to enter the park and not a few already there with say campground reservations or lodging reservations have been stubbornly staying. Many park employees no doubt complained as they certainly would want to get away from the smoke after breathing it for days even if they lose pay in the process. Would be interesting to read why some still in the park did not leave days ago.

I saw some idiots on the Reddit Yosemite forum urging people to honor their Half Dome permits despite the smoke because of a good photo shot at the top. It's not clear conditions on the top that are going to lure me - it's the 16+ hrs of smoke I'm climbing in that will keep me away!

I would also like to add that any social media accounts linked to the 'tourism' of the parks and forests are always misleading about conditions. They don't give people the true nature of the conditions in hopes that only worst case scenario will make them turn back last minute, and that they'll get up there and stay since money has been paid and time has been spent.

I ditched those kinds of social media accounts for real time info and now just follow the NPS, USFS, CalTrans and Fire accounts for more accurate weather and conditions. Keeps me from wasting my time and keeps me safe a lot better.
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by mrphil »

People staying is about money they've spent. In some cases, thousands for travel after sometimes years of planning from around the world or the US.

What I'm wondering about is how much price gouging is going on just outside the park for the displaced, by the greedy and opportunistic. We had the same thing going on up here after our fires, until Brown declared it a disaster area and made it a crime subject to enhanced prosecution. Sad, but it happens all the time.
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by mrphil »

The webcams actually look a lot better today for the most part. The Valley looks pretty bad still, but TM looks entirely doable, and Badger Pass looks downright pleasant...too bad the road is closed. I guess the inversion layer is finally lifting.
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Re: Yosemite Valley & Wawona Closing and Evac Ordered 7/25

Post by Dave_Ayers »

Current YV reopening target is 8/3. Below is from the YNP web site:
Yosemite Valley is closed, with tentative reopening onl Friday, Aug. 3 at 4 pm. Wawona, Mariposa Grove, and South Entrance are closed indefinitely. Tioga Road, Tuolumne Meadows, Big Oak Flat Entrance, Tioga Pass Entrance, and Hetch Hetchy are open.
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Yosmite Valley / Hetch Hetchy Closure Extended Thru 8/5

Post by maverick »

Yosemite NP:
Yosemite National Park Announces Yosemite Valley and Other Areas Will Remain Closed through Sunday, August 5, 2018 Due to Continued Unhealthy Smoke Impacts and Active Firefighting Operations Conditions and closures to be assessed over the weekend.

Yosemite National Park announces Yosemite Valley, Wawona Road, the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias, Hetch Hetchy, and other areas will remain closed to all visitors through Sunday, August 5, 2018 due to continued unhealthy smoke impacts and ongoing firefighting operations. The park will continue to assess conditions and reevaluate all closures on Sunday, August 5.

Yosemite Valley has been temporarily closed since July 25 due to smoke impacts and for firefighting operations along El Portal Road and the Wawona Road due to the Ferguson Fire.

The Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120 West) to Crane Flat and Tioga Road (Highway 120 East) from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass remain open to all visitors and vehicles. Visitors are advised to drive with caution, as smoke impacts may vary.

All trails and campgrounds along Tioga Road, including the Tuolumne Meadows Campground remain open. All visitor services along Tioga Road, including the High Sierra Camps and visitor services near Tuolumne Meadows remain open.

Since the Ferguson Fire began on Friday, July 13, several other park facilities and roads have been closed due to fire impacts and the need to support firefighting operations.

These closures include Glacier Point Road, Bridalveil Creek Campground, Wawona Campground, and the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Yosemite National Park continues to work closely with the Incident Management Team and continues to assess park conditions daily.

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call 209-372-0200, press 1 and press 1 again. Updated information is also available on the park’s website at www.nps.gov/yose and on the Yosemite National Park Facebook page.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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