Update: Tioga Road through Yosemite open; Yosemite Valley, Wawona, more closed until at least August 5

This post was written by Gabrielle Renteria, 2015 Bookstore Assistant, 2016 Mono Lake Intern, and 2016–2018 Project Specialist.

Late last week officials with the National Park Service announced that they would be extending temporary closures of Yosemite Valley, Wawona, Mariposa Grove, Wawona Road, and Big Oak Flat Road from Yosemite Valley to Crane Flat through Friday, August 3 Sunday, August 5. Park officials made the decision to close parts of the park last week due to public health concerns related to extreme smoke from the Ferguson Fire. Highway 120 through the park, also known as the Tioga Road, remains open.

Firefighters are working day and night to contain the Ferguson Fire. Photo courtesy of Kari Greer.

Conditions permitting, the affected areas are scheduled to re-open and 4:00pm on Friday, August 3. The park will continue to assess conditions and reevaluate all closures on Sunday, August 5. Be sure to check current conditions before heading into the park.

In addition to these closures Highway 140 has been closed and evacuated and Glacier Point Road and Merced Grove are closed to allow firefighters room to stage fire operations.

Smoke from the Ferguson Fire at Mono Lake. Photo by Gabrielle Renteria.

If you are planning to visit the Mono Basin, you can expect smoky conditions, ranging from “moderate” to “unhealthy.”