WEATHER ALERT
California sees a summer of extremes, from heat waves and wildfires to snow
Read full article: California sees a summer of extremes, from heat waves and wildfires to snowThe West Coast’s summer has been interrupted by an unusually cold system from the Gulf of Alaska that dropped down through the Pacific Northwest into Northern California.
Young, wild and free: Wolverine spotted in California for only second time in last 100 years
Read full article: Young, wild and free: Wolverine spotted in California for only second time in last 100 yearsA wolverine was spotted three times last month in the eastern Sierra Nevada, a rare occurrence for an animal that’s only been seen one other time in California over the last 100 years.
Thousands ordered to flee California wildfire near Yosemite
Read full article: Thousands ordered to flee California wildfire near YosemiteThousands of people were ordered to flee a fast-moving wildfire near Yosemite National Park that has exploded into one of California's largest wildfires of the year.
Preventative fires credited with saving Yosemite sequoias
Read full article: Preventative fires credited with saving Yosemite sequoiasA Yosemite National Park ecologist says a famed grove of giant sequoias have survived their first wildfire in more than a century because of intentional burning to remove undergrowth beneath the towering trees.
Yosemite wildfire threatens grove of iconic sequoia trees
Read full article: Yosemite wildfire threatens grove of iconic sequoia treesThe largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park is still closed as firefighters battle a blaze that threatens the trees and has forced hundreds of campers to evacuate.
Yosemite wildfire is latest threat to giant sequoia trees
Read full article: Yosemite wildfire is latest threat to giant sequoia treesOfficials say part of Yosemite National Park has been closed and hundreds of people evacuated nearby as a wildfire rages near a grove of California’s famed giant sequoia trees.
Brothers set record crossing large gap in park on a highline
Read full article: Brothers set record crossing large gap in park on a highlineTwo brothers from San Francisco say they have set a record for the longest highline ever walked in both Yosemite National Park and California, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
2 skiers defy death in descent of Yosemite's Half Dome
Read full article: 2 skiers defy death in descent of Yosemite's Half DomeIn this photo provided by Jason Torlano, Zach Milligan is shown on his descent down Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. Two men climbed some 4,000 feet to the top of Yosemite's Half Dome in subfreezing temperatures and skied down the famously steep monolith to the valley floor. He specializes in using ropes to work in high-altitude and dangerous settings. AdHe said he tried to ski down Half Dome each of the past three years, but called it off after finding unsuitable snow. This year, an early February storm filled Yosemite with fresh powder, including about 2 to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of snow at the peak of Half Dome.
Homes burned as winds push California fire into desert floor
Read full article: Homes burned as winds push California fire into desert floorThe fire grew by nearly 20,000 acres to 142 square miles (368 square kilometers). The name of the firefighter killed in the nearby El Dorado Fire was being withheld until family members are notified. More than 7,900 wildfires have burned more than 5,468 square miles (14,164 square kilometers) in California this year, including many since a mid-August barrage of dry lightning ignited parched vegetation. The El Dorado Fire has burned more than 34 square miles (89 square kilometers) and was 59% contained, with 10 buildings destroyed and six damaged. ___Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report.
Sierra Club calls out founder John Muir for racist views
Read full article: Sierra Club calls out founder John Muir for racist viewsFILE - This 1907 photo provided by the U.S. National Park Service shows naturalist John Muir in Yosemite National Park, Calif. The Sierra Club is reckoning with the racist views of founder John Muir, the naturalist who helped spawn environmentalism. The San Francisco-based environmental group said Wednesday, July 22, 2020, that Muir was part of the group's history perpetuating white supremacy. Executive Director Michael Brune says Muir made racist remarks about Black people and Native Americans, though his views later evolved. (Courtesy of U.S. National Park Service via AP)
Yosemite visitor dies after falling from Half Dome cables
Read full article: Yosemite visitor dies after falling from Half Dome cables(CNN) - A Yosemite National Park visitor died after falling from the cables at the Half Dome on Thursday morning, according to National Park officials. Danielle Burnett, 29, from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, fell over 500 feet down a rocky surface and was pronounced dead when the Park Rangers arrived on the scene, National Park Public Affairs Officer Scoot Gediman said in a statement to CNN. The last death on the famous Half Dome was in May of 2018, when a hiker slipped and fell during dangerous weather conditions. A guide for hikers strongly indicates caution when climbing the cables, and notes that "since 1919, relatively few people have fallen and died on the cables. The cables are only up from about May to October due to weather, and permits are required to make the hike.
7 ways to stay safe in national parks
Read full article: 7 ways to stay safe in national parks(CNN) - The urge to get a bit closer to Yosemite National Park's waterfalls or Yellowstone National Park's majestic bears is so tempting. Our national parks are not zoos, with animals caged to protect you from aggressive behavior, and it's not safe to ignore the rules, National Park Service officials say. (The park service's 419 sites include the 61 famous national parks, national seashores and lakeshores, historic parks and national monuments.) Talk to a ranger, get your National Park Service passport stamped at a visitor center, and head out safely to explore these amazing national parks. Layers, layers, layers.
Man dies after falling in Yosemite National Park
Read full article: Man dies after falling in Yosemite National ParkGetty Images(CNN) - Three visitors were injured, one fatally, in falls in Yosemite National Park last week, and officials are imploring tourists to avoid venturing off-trail. A 21-year-old man died after he slipped and fell from the base of a waterfall in the California park, National Park Service officials told CNN on Monday. In two incidents July 29 and Wednesday, another visitor and the man fell 20 feet after slipping on wet boulders near the base of Bridalveil Fall, officials said. Park officials declined to release his name or the nature of his death, citing privacy laws. The third incident occurred Thursday at Lower Yosemite Fall, where a visitor slipped off a boulder and became trapped between rocks underwater in Yosemite Creek.