After recent winter storms dumped up to 15 feet of snow on some parts of Yosemite National Park, the park has closed with no estimated time to reopen.
“Park crews are working to restore critical services so visitors can return safely,” Yosemite park officials wrote on the website.
Across California, other parks are closed to give crews time to excavate the roads and repair damage from the storms.
Here’s the latest status on how California’s state and national parks are doing after the storms.
- Mojave National Reserve: According to the website, all preserved roads have been closed since Wednesday until further notice. Travelers were warned not to drive into the area or bypass barricades. Mojave Road across Soda Lake was also closed due to wet and muddy conditions.
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park: Nearly all park roads were closed as of Friday morning while repair work continued. Kings Canyon Visitor Center in Grant Grove Village and Azalea Campground were also closed.
- Redwood National and State Parks: There were closures at the Northern California park “due to multiple storms that caused downed trees and power outages,” according to the website.
- Death Valley National Park: Many roads, including North Highway and Beatty Cut-Off, were closed Friday due to damage from storms or ice.
Since Thursday afternoon 14 state parks in California were completely closed and 34 were partially closed. In Los Angeles County, Leo Carrillo State Park was partially closed. In Orange County, Bolsa Chica State Beach was completely closed, and Crystal Cove State Beach and Chino Hills State Park were also completely closed.
The San Bernardino National Forest was also closed from Friday through March 16 due to storm damage to infrastructure in the forest and around the mountain communities, according to a press release.
“Due to limited access and deteriorating conditions, it will take several weeks for the forest to be fully operational,” Forest Supervisor Danielle Harrison said in the release. “With communities facing a lack of power and a lack of resources, visiting these mountain communities puts additional strain on already scarce resources.”
The storms downed power poles and lines, damaged roads and made snow and ice unsafe.
Forest officials advised drivers against traveling to the communities, but said if they must be prepared with self-sufficient resources in case they get stuck.
