28 Juli--2008
The Telegraph fire burning to the west of Yosemite National Park knocked out power lines that feed the heavily visited Yosemite Valley, leaving hotels, restaurants and other services to rely on backup generators, a park spokeswoman said.
As a result, the nature center at Happy Isles and the Ansel Adams Gallery are closed, but hotels, restaurants, campgrounds and back-country trails are open, according to Kari Cobb in Yosemite’s media relations department.
So if you have reservations or plan to visit, the park remains open but air quality is poor.
“I can’t see Half Dome from the valley floor,” Cobb said around 11 a.m. today. “I can barely see Glacier Point.” Cobb recommends any visitors with respiratory problems refrain from doing anything strenuous, but that’s about the only caveat so far.
Highway 140, the roadway leading into Yosemite from the southwest, remains open. Visitors taking that route will see the blaze, Cobb said.