Yosemite sets planned reopening, but 1 entrance closed longer. Winds felled giant sequoias
Yosemite National Park hopes to reopen Tuesday, but the park’s south entrance via Highway 41 will be closed to visitors past that date for safety reasons as crews work to repair downed electrical lines, the park announced Thursday.
The popular national park in California has been closed this week because of strong winds that hammered the region Monday night, toppling hundreds of trees, crushing buildings, and causing widespread power outages. No injuries related to wind damage have been reported in the area.
Two giant sequoias in the lower grove of Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias were also toppled by the strong winds, among other trees there, said Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman. Damage to Yosemite facilities, employee homes and vehicles is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
Yosemite’s Wawona community was hardest hit and remains without electricity, Gediman said. Wind speeds there reached an estimated 80 mph. Trees and tree limbs also fell in other parts of the park, including Yosemite Valley, but damage there was “not nearly as extensive as Wawona,” Gediman said.
When the park reopens, visitors in Yosemite Valley will not be able to drive past a gate located near the Bridalveil Fall parking lot to access Wawona Road (Highway 41 outside the park). The popular Tunnel View vista – with sweeping views of Half Dome, El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall – located just up the road will not be accessible to visitors.
All areas south of Yosemite Valley, including Badger Pass Ski Area, Wawona, and the Mariposa Grove, will remain closed until further notice.
The entrances along Highway 140, Highway 120 West, and Hetch Hetchy are expected to reopen Tuesday.
It’s not yet known when the south entrance will reopen to visitors, which depends on when conditions are safe, Gediman said. That entrance will still be accessible to park employees, residents and vendors.
Gediman called this Mono winds’ event the park’s biggest in terms of wind speed and damage caused over his 25 years in Yosemite.
The damage fortunately occurred during a slow winter season for the park. Fewer visitors normally come to Yosemite in the winter, and visitation has been further reduced in recent weeks because the park is currently only open to day-use visitors to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The park’s lodges and campgrounds continue to be closed.
The park is still working to assess all the wind damage. Gediman said Thursday afternoon that NPS crews hadn’t yet checked on Badger Pass or the upper grove of Mariposa Grove. In its lower grove, a boardwalk and bathroom installed during a $40 million restoration, finished in 2018, were also crushed by trees.
One of the giant sequoias that fell was near the Fallen Monarch tree, Gediman said.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Yosemite sets planned reopening, but 1 entrance closed longer. Winds felled giant sequoias."
