Heart of Yosemite park to close as crews battle blaze
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LOS ANGELES — The heart of Yosemite National Park, where throngs of tourists are awe-struck by cascading waterfalls and towering granite features like El Capitan and Half Dome, will be closed as firefighters try to corral a huge wildfire just to the west that has cast a smoky pall and threatened the park’s forest, officials said Tuesday.
Yosemite Valley will be closed for at least four days beginning at noon Wednesday, along with a winding, mountainous, 20-mile (32-kilometre) stretch of State Route 41, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.
At least a thousand 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 were going to campsites one at a time to inform visitors of the closures. Hotels guests were getting phone calls and notes on their doors.
“We’re asking people here tonight to leave tomorrow morning,” he said, adding that many people have already left. “And anyone that’s incoming tomorrow will get an email or phone call stating that their reservation is cancelled.”
