Wildfire concerns near Yosemite grow as controlled burns nixed
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Half Dome is barely visible through the smoke from some small burn piles ignited in Ahwahnee Meadow in January 2021.NPS Photo
John Goss is worried about a gap.
As the fire management officer for Sierra National Forest, he’s worried about a lot of things right now: California’s unprecedented dryness, the below average snowpack, the preponderance of dead and drought-weakened trees. These are the indicators that make his neck hair stand up a little, he says.
But then there’s the narrow strip of forestland near the southwestern edge of Yosemite National Park, a mere 5 miles from the prized giant sequoias of the Mariposa Grove.
First came the wind gusts Yosemite National Park spokesman Scott Gediman estimated at 80 to 100 mph. Then came the crashing and crunching in the park’s Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Then rain and snow.
Now, as the toll becomes clearer, Gediman said, the “Mono wind event” that began Jan. 18 has caused perhaps “the most damage” measured in the park’s recorded history, including hundreds of fallen trees and crushed structures.
“We found 15 giant sequoias that were completely toppled by the wind” in the Mariposa Grove in the southern part of the park, Gediman said. “There could be more.”
He said early estimates suggest that the cost of repairs “will be in the ballpark” of the park’s flood of January 1997, in which damage was estimated at “upward of $200 million.”
Yosemite National Park extends closure until Monday, February due to winter storm conditions abc30.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc30.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Yosemite to bring back day-use reservation system
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A snow-covered swinging bridge in Yosemite National Park.NPS Photo
Yosemite National Park will require visitors to purchase day-use reservations to enter the park starting on Feb. 8, according to a press from park spokeswoman Jamie Richards. Annual pass holders will also need day-use reservations, which are valid for seven days and must be validated on the first day of the reservation.
The park is currently closed due to damage from a severe winter storm, and officials announced today that the reopening would be pushed back to Monday, Feb. 1.
“Park staff continue to clear roads and trails, mitigate hazard trees, and work toward restoring safe conditions for employees and visitors due to last week s Mono wind event,” Richards wrote in a news release.