The snow begins piling up at Curry Village. Photo by Andrew Hecht.
Roads are still closed into and out of the park for visitors but I’ve heard that administrative traffic is being let through. This is good because many of the National Park Service employees were forced to sleep over at the office in El Portal because the road to the NPS housing Yosemite West was closed. This also means they’ll be able to get fuel in for the generators in the Valley.
At this time there is no word on opening the roads for public use. More storms are on the way and could shut everything down again.
Power is still out in the Valley and many of the neighboring communities. Snow is the major problem on Highways 120 and 41. Highway 140 from Mariposa was blocked by mud, rocks and downed trees that gave way in the rain and high winds. Haven’t heard whether or not 140 has been cleared. I saw photos of the slides and it appears they were only blocking half the roadway but I’m sure the NPS and Caltrans wanted to check the slope to make sure it was safe before letting traffic by or beginning cleanup work.
We’ll keep you updated as we get more information.
If you’re an NPS or DNC employee and you have information you’d like to share please, feel free to email me. You can send your emails to YosemiteBlog@gmail.com.