April 26 (UPI) — Yosemite National Park announced most of Yosemite Valley will close beginning Friday because of potential flooding along the Merced River.
The park said Tuesday the closure will begin starting at 10 p.m. PDT on Friday through May 3 and “possibly longer,” noting that additional flooding and closures could occur throughout the rest of May and June.
“In Yosemite Valley, the closure will be at El Capitan crossover, the road that crosses the Merced River just east of El Capitan,” Yosemite National Park said. “There will be no visitor access east of that road.”
Wawona, Crane Flat, Hetch Hetchy and western Yosemite Valley will remain open and Mariposa Grove will be open via hike only, the park added.
The park said it will automatically cancel reservations for lodging and campgrounds in eastern Yosemite Valley and money will be refunded. It said wilderness permits will be rescheduled to alternate trailheads as space allows.
The announcement of the closure came as the National Weather Service predicted temperatures to increase by 5 to 15 degrees for the upcoming weekend, melting snow that accumulated at levels up to more than 300% than usual in the Sierra Nevada region of Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney this past winter.
Earlier this year, Yosemite closed for almost a month after multiple storms and atmospheric river systems produced record snowfall.
