Is Yosemite safe to visit during the River Fire? Travelers worried, but go anyway
As the River Fire burned for a fourth day near Yosemite, travelers headed to the national park in central California were conflicted about their visits.
As of Wednesday, the wildfire in Mariposa and Madera counties had burned 9,500 acres with containment at 36 percent. Some evacuations for the area were eased Wednesday afternoon, and all entrances to Yosemite remain open for those with reservations.
At the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center in Oakhurst, Peter Anderson said he and wife Rachel had no idea a fire was raging in the area when they packed up their five kids into the minivan and drove from Glendale, Arizona, to visit Yosemite.
The hazy skies from smoke was his first indication, he said.
“At first we thought it might have been fog, but then we saw tons of fire trucks whiz past us and we knew right then it was a large fire,” Anderson said.
Anderson said being from Arizona his family was accustomed to wildfires. But this time, when they saw all the smoke while staying in the Mariposa area, their health concerns grew.
“It was concerning to see how the sun was blocked out and seeing our kids inhale all of that,” Anderson said.
He added he felt fortunate that the air had cleared some Wednesday compared to the past few days and that their trip to Yosemite wouldn’t be a total loss.
South of Oakhurst in Coarsegold, Blanca Duarte and Lucy Villarreal weren’t headed all the way up Highway 41 to Yosemite. But they were worried about their plan to go on a hike.
The two, Duarte from Fresno and Villarreal from Madera, still headed to the Lewis Trail in Oakhurst on Wednesday, but watching coverage of the River Fire all week had them on edge and reconsidering their decision made a few days before the fire started.
“I saw the news and how bad the fire was burning up here and I kept thinking, was this a good idea?” Duarte said during a stop at Robert’s Frosty restaurant. “We didn’t know if it was going to be a nightmare up here.”
The final decision was made last night when the two checked the news and saw that containment of the fire had increased.
While the acreage burned remained consistent from Tuesday to Wednesday, Madera County declared a state of local emergency to help the county receive state and federal assistance.
Cal Fire firefighters on Wednesday starting mop-up efforts and damage assessment.
There have been no reports of fatalities related to the fire.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Is Yosemite safe to visit during the River Fire? Travelers worried, but go anyway."