Smoke from the Ferguson Valley was greatly reduced in the Yosemite Valley on Friday afternoon/NPS webcam 8-10-18
Yosemite National Park's iconic valley, closed to the public since July 25 due to the Ferguson Fire burning outside the park's western border, is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday at 9 a.m. The park's Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias to reopen on Monday.
The fire, which started from an unknown cause on Friday, July 13, and has spread to more than 95,500 acres, was reported to be 80 percent contained as of Friday afternoon. Barring any changes, visitors can access Yosemite Valley from the El Portal Road (Highway 140), the Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120), or the Tioga Road (Highway 120) next Tuesday.
The Wawona Road (Highway 41) is expected to remain closed from Wawona to Yosemite Valley for at least another week due to ongoing fire activity and firefighter operations. Park visitors should be aware that there is still active fire and smoke on the roads and people should drive with extreme caution. Delays on the roads are possible due to fire activity and ongoing firefighter operations. There will be limited hours and limited visitor services at park facilities as the park returns to normal operations.
The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is scheduled to reopen to the public on Monday, August 13, at 9 a.m. Visitors can access the Mariposa Grove via the South Entrance (Highway 41) and park in the newly constructed parking area. The free shuttle buses to the Mariposa Grove will begin at 9 a.m. and take visitors to the newly restored Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The Mariposa Grove reopened to visitors on June 14, after a three-year restoration project conducted in partnership with Yosemite Conservancy. Visitors will be able to travel to the Wawona area via the South Entrance (Highway 41). However, there is no access to Yosemite Valley via HIghway 41.
The Glacier Point Road remains closed and is expected to open when the Wawona Road (Highway 41) reopens. The Hetch Hetchy Area remains closed due to smoke impacts but is expected to reopen soon.
"We'd like to express our sincere gratitude to the firefighters and incident command teams for their great efforts in suppressing the Ferguson Fire. We'd also like to express our gratitude and thanks to our gateway communites who tirelessly helped visitors to the area while they were being impacted by the fire," said Yosemite Superintendent Michael Reynolds. "This is truly a historic and unprecedented event in park history, and we are thrilled to welcome back visitors to Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove."
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.
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Comments
"FOOD FOR THOUGHT"
Do you ever wonder why in the past few years the Sierras seem to be on fire all the time? Fires in California in general seem to rage out of control? Often the western U.S. has many more fires than in the past?
Well, folks, it isn't due to "global warming, climate change, drier conditions, hotter than normal temperatures".
Fire fighting has become an industry. The policy for wildland fire fighting agencies has undergone a change from
"FIRE SUPPRESION" to "FIRE MANAGEMENT". That wording is the difference. No longer is it the focus of firefighters to put out a fire, but to watch it, manage it, wait until it threatens a structure before taking action.
And in changing the way fires are approched, an industry has blossomed. Support teams, food service and caterers, drivers, specialty tool developement and personel trained to use these specific tools, waste management, I.T. systems, pilots, and the list has grown to include a multitude of resources. When a fire breaks out, the first response policy is not to extinguish it, but to put call a meeting, find a staging area, and call in the support resources.
Understand that firefighters earn substantially more money when they are actually engaged in firefighting events. All of the players in this industry make money when fires occur. The longer the fire burns, the more money being made by everyone involved. Research some of the statisics involving personel used on large fires. Check the "CAL FIRE" website as an example. Lots of people are making lots of money. The ripple effect extends to post-fire reconstruction industry as well.
The "public" is not aware of this new approach to fire policy. They do not know the enormous amounts of money being made when wildland fires are burning. Just take note next time a fire is reported and the length of time taken to actually arrive on-scene and extinguish the fire.
Keep in mind, the technology, skills, and equipment to kill a fire in short time is available and has been accomplished in the past. But high paychecks are much more desirable than protecting the environment.
( I speak from experience, knowledge, and on behalf of the fire fighters in my family. It was important that someone hear this...)
Bulloney!!!! That is simply disgusting. Has Traveler been hacked by Infowars?
Joseph, while I don't doubt your claim of the rise of a firefighting industry, I don't believe that is the motivation of the shift from suppression to management tactics. There is substantial evidence that the intensity and extent of some of the more recent fires is because of previous suppression efforts. Forests need to burn occasionally to stay healthy. Otherwise the understory becomes overwhelmed with litter that can ignite more easily and burn more intensly. Thus where life or infrastructure is not at risk it is best to let it burn. Like my discussion with Rick re conscience, the best solution may be ugly in the near term but it serves the greater good long term.
I've been in Yosemite Valley during a controlled burn. It wasn't the greatest for visibility - especially on the day of my wife's first visit.
However, the natives in the Yosemite area were known for allowing burns and even specifically starting burns. Their main purpose was supposed to promote the growth of oaks that were their food source, but it also reduced the risk of greater fires in the future.
Conspiracy theories much?
North Cascades National Park, where I live, is a very large wilderness park. Recently lightning strikes have set off sometimes 4-5 fires a day. Most burn themselves out relatively briefly. All have to be observed to ensure they don't grow, or to attack them when they do. Of course resources gather - fire fighters from other parks, additional aircraft, manning additional lookout towers. Double shifts and more for everyone from dispatchers to incident commanders to ground crew. I don't know about you but I've fought fires with support services and I've fought fires without, and I know which is most efficient. Yes, some seasonal employees make their winter living money fighting fires in the summer, but I can't begrudge them that.
Ask Andrew Brake. Or Brian Hughes. Go back a bit and ask Anne Veseth. These folks and all too many others have paid the ultimate price. Many others have been injured. I don't think a one of them is in on the secret conspiracy to let the wilderness burn for profit.
Kurt doesn't need a new Alex Jones here in the forest.