Campsites and lodges emptied out after disappointed tourists were ordered to leave the heart of Yosemite National Park by noon Wednesday, as firefighters battled to contain a huge wildfire just to the west that has threatened the park’s forest and sent up smoke that obscured grand vistas of waterfalls and sheer granite faces.
Yosemite Valley will be closed until at least Sunday, along with a winding, mountainous, 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of California’s State Route 41 that leads in, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.
At least a thousand campground and hotel bookings will be canceled – to say nothing of the impact on day visitors, park workers and small businesses along the highway, Gediman said. Rangers went to campsites one at a time to inform visitors of the closures. Hotels guests got phone calls and notes on their doors.
Mara Schumann photographs a plume of smoke from the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Parts of the park, including Yosemite Valley, will close Wednesday as firefighters work to stop the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
FILE – In this Sunday, July 15, 2018, file photo, flames from a wildfire burn down a hillside in unincorporated Mariposa County Calif., near Yosemite National Park. California authorities will shut down Yosemite Valley for several days beginning Wednesday, July 25, as crews try to stop a stubborn and growing wildfire from spreading into Yosemite National Park. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
As smoke from the Ferguson Fire fills the sky, vehicles leave Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Parts of the park, including Yosemite Valley, will close Wednesday as firefighters work to stop the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
‘This is the prime visitor season, so this wasn’t an easy decision to make,’ Gediman said. ‘This was purely for safety’s sake.’
Officials were quick to point out that Yosemite wasn’t under imminent danger from the Ferguson Fire. Authorities decided on the closure to allow crews to perform protective measures such as burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park that welcomes 4 million visitors annually.
The last time the 7.5-mile-long (12-kilometer-long) valley was closed because of fire was 1990, he said.
Yosemite Valley is the centerpiece of the visitor experience, offering views of landmarks such as Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Bridal Veil Fall, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. The glacial valley has been enveloped by a choking haze of smoke from the Ferguson Fire.
Visitors are advised to ‘limit activity during the periods of poor air quality,’ the park said in a statement. ‘Some facilities and services are closed or diminished.’
Over nearly two weeks, flames have churned through more than 57 square miles (148 square kilometers) of timber in steep terrain of the Sierra Nevada just west of the park. The fire was just 25 percent contained Tuesday.
Mandatory evacuations are in place in several communities while others have been told to get ready to leave if necessary.
A sign announces a highway closure in Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, as the Ferguson Fire burns nearby. Highway 140 has been closed more than a week as firefighters work to contain the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Vehicles leave Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, as the Ferguson Fire burns nearby. Parts of the park, including Yosemite Valley, will close Wednesday as firefighters work to stop the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Francisco Avendano, visiting from Madrid, Spain, photographs Half Dome as smoke from the Ferguson Fire hangs over Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Parts of the park, including Yosemite Valley, will close Wednesday as firefighters work to contain the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
FILE–In this file photo taken Oct. 30, 2017, a partially burned vineyard is seen along Highway 121 in Sonoma, Calif. California Gov. Jerry Brown has thrown his support behind limiting liability for electric utilities when their equipment causes wildfires. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, file)
More than 3,300 firefighters are working the fire, aided by 16 helicopters. One firefighter was killed July 14, and six others have been injured.
Rhonda Salisbury, CEO of Visit Yosemite/Madera County, said the regional visitors bureau has been relocating tourists statewide following the closure.
‘People are heartbroken,’ she said. ‘Some want to ride it out for a few days and see if they can get back in the park.’ Others want help finding places to stay away from Yosemite.
Gediman suggested valley visitors divert to Tuolumne Meadows, on Yosemite’s northern edge, or to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to the south.
‘There are wonderful places to visit in the region, so we’re asking people to consider alternative plans,’ he said.
In the state’s far north, a nearly 4-square-mile (10-square-kilometer) wildfire has forced the evacuation of French Gulch, a small Shasta County community that dates to the Gold Rush.
Smoke from the Ferguson Fire fills Yosemite Valley as seen from Tunnel View Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A Yosemite National Park official says at least a thousand campground and hotel reservations will be canceled after authorities decided to close Yosemite Valley to keep a growing forest fire at bay. Spokesman Scott Gediman says the valley, the heart of the visitor experience at the park, along with a windy, mountainous, 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of State Route 41 that is part of Yosemite will close beginning Wednesday at noon. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
German tourists Stephanie Schultz, left, photographs Kai Rudolph, right, along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley as smoke from the Ferguson Fire hangs in the air Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. 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. The closure is expected to last through Sunday. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
Victor Woodley wears a mask due to smoke while taking entrance fees at the south entrance to Yosemite National Park, Calif., Tuesday, July 24, 2018. 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-kilometer) stretch of State Route 41, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
People stop to look at the smoke from nearby wildfires Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Yosemite National Park, Calif. 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. The closure is expected to last through Sunday. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
FILE – In this Oct. 14, 2017 file photo, an aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after a wildfire swept through in Santa Rosa, Calif. California Gov. Jerry Brown has thrown his support behind limiting liability for electric utilities when their equipment causes wildfires. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
FILE – In this July 15, 2018, file photo, a plane battling the Ferguson Fire passes the setting sun over unincorporated Mariposa County, Calif., near Yosemite National Park. California authorities will shut down Yosemite Valley for several days as crews try to stop a stubborn and growing wildfire from spreading into Yosemite National Park. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
Residents listen during a community meeting at an auditorium in Yosemite Valley to share the latest information about the Ferguson Fire Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A Yosemite National Park official says at least a thousand campground and hotel reservations will be canceled after authorities decided to close Yosemite Valley to keep a growing forest fire at bay. Spokesman Scott Gediman says the valley, the heart of the visitor experience at the park, along with a windy, mountainous, 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of State Route 41 that is part of Yosemite will close beginning Wednesday at noon. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
Brooke Smith, right, who lives in Yosemite Valley, talks on the phone after attending a community meeting for the latest information about the Ferguson Fire Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A Yosemite National Park official says at least a thousand campground and hotel reservations will be canceled after authorities decided to close Yosemite Valley to keep a growing forest fire at bay. Spokesman Scott Gediman says the valley, the heart of the visitor experience at the park, along with a windy, mountainous, 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of State Route 41 that is part of Yosemite will close beginning Wednesday at noon. (Eric Paul Zamora/The Fresno Bee via AP)
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