Most Of Yosemite Still Closed; Hazardous Air Quality From Fires Shuts Valley, Hetch Hetchy, Wawona
Once a year for the past decade, Wendy Williams and her family have camped in California's Yosemite National Park, spending summer days taking in the natural beauty of their favorite spot: Yosemite Valley, an area that hosts many of the park's famous cliffs and waterfalls.
This year, as fires raged across the state, a large portion of Yosemite closed on July 25, along with hundreds of campsites and hotels. Most of Yosemite National Park remained closed on Sunday as officials worked to determine if wildfires burning across California would be contained enough to allow large swaths of the park to reopen Monday.
The closures forced Williams and her family, along with several others joining them, to change their plans from camping at their usual spot in the valley to booking a spot on the other end of the park in Tuolumne Meadows. At first, the last-minute change gave Williams and her three teenage children a chance to explore a new part of the park. But by Wednesday, the thick smoke made it difficult to breathe.
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Wawona, Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point, Yosemite Valley, Crane Flat, Big Oak Flat, Hetch Hetchy and other large portions of the park boasting some of its most spectacular wonders were closed on Sunday. All entrances and roads were also closed, with the exception of Tioga Pass and Tioga Road, according to the National Park Service.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/large-portions-yosemite-national-park-remain-closed-heavy-smoke-lingers-n897781
