Daily Report - Yosemite National Park - Friday, July 21, 2023

Daily Report – Yosemite National Park

Friday, July 21, 2023

Yosemite National Park Zone Forecast

Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 105. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 105. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the morning.

Additional Point Forecast Weather Links:

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NEW & HAPPENING TODAY

Pika Fire Update 7/19/2023
Location: Just west of North Dome

Elevation: 7,100’

Discover date: June 29, 2023

Size: 840 acres

Cause: Lightning

Containment: 20%

Yosemite Fire crews are using a management strategy utilizing natural barriers and trails to confine the spread of the fire in a predefined area. A confine and contain strategy under favorable conditions allows fire to move naturally across the landscape, providing ecological benefits to plants and wildlife, while also meeting protection objectives to minimize risk to people and infrastructure.

Fire management in Yosemite provides for the reduction of hazardous fuels, increasing the diversity of habitats, promoting new plant growth and a return of a natural fire cycle to the landscape.

The southern and eastern areas of the fire perimeter are contained. The fire has exhibited moderate growth with some isolated active pockets northwest of North Dome. Crews remain onsite to ensure the fire stays within the current perimeter and will continue to monitor for the coming weeks. Trail closures will continue to be in effect, impacting short sections of the North Dome Trail and Lehamite Creek.

Smoke from the Pika Fire are expected to impact Yosemite Valley in the evenings and overnight with conditions improving as smoke lifts during the late mornings. Impacts may also be seen in the trails in the park and surrounding communities of Foresta, Groveland, El Portal, and Lee Vining.

For current smoke conditions: nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/aqmonitoring.htm

Current Fire Information INCIWEB: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/caynp-pika-fire (Yose Fire Info)
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Tioga Road Opening
The Tioga Road will be opening to the public for bicycle day on Friday, July 21, 2023. We will fully open the Tioga Road on Saturday, July 22, 2023. There will be very limited services this year due to winter storm damage. Please reach out to Mather District Ranger Mark Krebs with any questions. (M. Krebs).
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Yosemite Medical Clinic
On Fridays, we will suspend walk-ins service until the end of September to allow us time for primary care service and continuous quality improvement efforts. Pattama welcomes any feedback and suggestions on our services. Please do not hesitate to reach out: pattama_ulrich@nps.gov or text 209-372-5452. Thank you! (Pattama).
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Happy Isles Hours
The Happy Isles Art & Nature Center will close early on Friday July 21st at 2pm. The building will resume its usual business hours (9am – 4pm) again on Saturday July, 22nd. (L. Spielman)

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RECENT NEWS

Yosemite National Park ChildCare Centers Fundraising BBQs

Support the Yosemite National Park ChildCare Centers and fill your belly! $10 BBQs in Yosemite Village on Wednesday July 19 from 11:30-1:00pm. Meat and veggie options. Cash, check or venmo accepted. Thanks for your support—see you there! Additional lunch BBQ Fundraiser July 26. (E. Kretsch)

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Yosemite Valley Welcome Center Plaza Update
Expect to see some fencing coming down around the Yosemite Valley Welcome Center, so that visitors can use the newly constructed restrooms and the outside orientation panels in the plaza, just outside the new Welcome Center. Portable toilets in front of the Village Store will be removed as these new restrooms open. The Welcome Center itself will not be open due to some final construction phases and other pieces until mid to late September. (S. Miyako)
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Volunteer Ice Cream Social
Tuesday, July 25th, 12-2pm
Volunteers, their Supervisors/ Colleagues, and Friends of volunteers come enjoy a tasty treat at the picnic tables behind the Valley Auditorium! Non-dairy and Vegan options provided. Contact yose_volunteers@nps.gov or 209.379.1850 (A. Martinez)
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Materials Handler Trails Commissary Volunteer Position
Trails has an opening for a 32hr/week volunteer position with the possibility of housing in El Portal included. Open to any interested applicants. The volunteer will be responsible for receipt, stock, handling, storage, and transport of food supply operation for up to 100+ trail personnel starting ASAP until October. Driver’s license necessary. Please share the application link: Trails Commissary Volunteer Application Form Contact yose_volunteers@nps.gov or 209.379.1850 (A. Martinez)
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El Portal Mountain Lion Activity

There was a recent cluster of mountain lion sightings in Old El Portal. This lion appears to be weak and starving and is likely unable to hunt for deer, which would explain its presence in the residential areas. This lion will remain in residential areas, including fenced backyard spaces and porches, as long as it is finding easy food. This is the time to be more cautious than usual with pets and children.

Lions are a normal and important part of the natural surroundings we enjoy while in and around Yosemite National Park. However, the presence of lions, especially near developed areas, requires that we take precautions;

Keep children close to you – do not allow them to run ahead or lag behind on the trail. If they are playing outside they should be supervised by an adult until this lion moves on to another area.
Keep pets indoors or on a leash with you – do not let them roam free.
Never feed wildlife – this includes deer, raccoons, squirrels or coyotes. Feeding wildlife attracts them in higher numbers to developed area. These smaller animals can then attract mountain lions into developed areas.
Hiking or running alone is not recommended. A walking stick can be a useful defense.
If you encounter a lion, take the following actions:
Shout in a low voice, wave your arms, or hold your coat open. Your goal is to make yourself look as large and threatening as possible.
Maintain eye contact with the lion, and do not crouch down.
Throw sticks or rocks at the lion.
NEVER RUN.
Pick up or restrain small children to keep them from panicking and running.
If a lion attacks, FIGHT BACK!
Attack from a mountain lion is still an extremely unlikely event, but use of the above recommendations can further reduce the chances of injury, and allow us to more safely share the park with these spectacular animals.

Report all mountain lion sightings to the Park’s Dispatch Office at 209-379-1992 or Wildlife Management at yose_bear_mgmt@nps.gov. (C. Lee-Roney)

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Yosemite Valley Lodge Pool hours
YVL Pool will be operating from 2 PM – 7 PM until the smoke conditions change from the Pika fire (C. Layman)
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Glacier Point Road Delays

Construction crews will continue to work on the 15-mile-long Glacier Point Road corridor between Chinquapin and Glacier Point. Crews will be working at multiple locations along the road between 6AM and 9PM, with alternating one-way traffic control and up to 30-minute delays. The 30-minute delays will occur Monday thru Friday and continue thru August 31st, 2023. Please contact Michael Pieper, with any questions or concerns at (209) 200-1131. (M. Pieper)
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Sustainability Brownbag 7/25

Are you curious to learn more about sustainability in Yosemite? Join the Yosemite Sustainability Council for a 1-hr virtual brownbag to learn about the new NPS Green Parks Plan, current projects that are greening our park, and how to get involved. This lunch hour brownbag will be held on MS Teams from 12-1pm on Tuesday July 25th, and feature a question-and-answer session with some light networking.

Seasonal, Term, and Permanent Employees from all varieties park partners are welcome and encouraged to attend! We’re looking to build our inter-park team of change-makers in support of a sustainable Yosemite. To receive the Microsoft teams link, please sign up online via our google form.

For questions about the event, email valerie_vines@nps.gov or yose_dei@nps.gov. (V. Vines)

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Peregrine Falcon and Golden Eagle Climbing Closures Lifted

As of July 15th, all peregrine falcon and golden eagle climbing closures have been lifted. Despite a record-breaking winter and spring precipitation, Yosemite’s peregrine falcons prevailed and had a great breeding season! 2023 had 15 confirmed nests located with 18 breeding pairs and possibly 20 occupied territories. Season highlights include:

25 fledglings confirmed
40% of located nests were alternate locations. Pairs will often choose alternate nest sites within the same territory. For example, Arch Rock has five alternate historic nest sites
After 19 years of using the same nest on the Rostrum, the pair used a new nest location this year
Higher Cathedral Rock pair nested with approx. 3 feet of snow next to their eyrie ledge
Wawona increased pair territories from one to two. Nesting occurred at Wawona Dome and Turner Ridge
This display of resiliency is a great reminder of how majestic these birds are but also, how far we’ve come in restoring this species. Thank you to the Yosemite Climbing Rangers, Fire and Aviation, Law Enforcement and Protection, Volunteers, and the Yosemite community for your enthusiasm and work in helping to protect the park’s peregrine falcons. Happy Climbing!

Yosemite Peregrines: A Story of Hope – YouTube (S. Smith)

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ONGOING PROJECTS

Mist Trail Repair: July 10th – November 2nd

The Lower Mist Trail – from the John Muir Trail (JMT) junction (just uphill from the Vernal Fall Footbridge) to the top of Vernal Fall – will be closed M-TH between 7:00am and 3:30pm from 7/10/23 – 11/2/23 (subject to change). The trail will be open on Labor Day and Columbus Day. The trail will remain open Fridays and on weekends. It is expected to be open overnight, however there may be certain days when trail crew is not able to make it safe to open overnight. In that case, the gates will remain closed, and signs will be posted at the two closure gates that the trail is closed.

Hikers and backpackers headed to Little Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, and points beyond from the trailhead at Happy Isles may hike uphill on the Mist Trail if they reach the Mist Trail/JMT junction by 7:00am, Monday through Thursday. Otherwise, they must hike the JMT. (W. Weaver)

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The Merced Grove is Closed for Restoration

Giant sequoias are adapted to frequent, low-intensity fire and depend on fire for reproduction. Frequent fires reduce fire intensity by thinning the forest of small and unhealthy trees and reducing the accumulation of dead branches and trees. But over the past century, fires were suppressed, and drought and insects killed millions of trees in Yosemite. In the Merced Grove, there is limited sequoia regeneration and fuel loading has increased to dangerous levels. Currently, we cannot safely introduce fire without first mechanically removing fuels first. Since 2020, wildfires have killed almost 20% of mature giant sequoias across their range due to extreme fuel loading, and we aim to prevent that outcome in the Merced Grove. Therefore, we are removing small diameter conifers, hazard trees, and dead and downed wood to reduce wildfire risk to the sequoias and firefighters as preparation for the first prescribed fire in and around the grove. The grove will be closed for 2.5 months during the restoration for visitor and worker safety. Please contact garrett_dickman@nps.gov with questions or for access. (G. Dickman)

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Wawona and Yosemite Valley Wildfire Protection Project

As part of an ongoing hazardous fuels reduction project to protect communities, increase forest resilience, and decrease risk to firefighters and the public, small trees and dead and down wood will be removed in Wawona and Yosemite Valley. In Wawona, material north of the south fork of the Merced River on NPS land and private property through a partnership with Mariposa County Resource Conservation District. In Yosemite Valley, crews will be working along North Side Drive between Middle Brother and El Capitan picnic area and between El Capitan woodlot and Pohono Bridge. Actions within Yosemite Valley are in preparation of prescribed fire. Material is either piled to be burned later or transported for carbon capture where it is used for wood products, electricity generation, or used as fill in restoration projects. (G. Dickman)

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Valley-wide Continuous Flow Intersection Improvement Project

Sentinel Drive remains closed for construction as the FHWA contractor pours and finishes concrete for pedestrian improvements at the site of the abandoned bus stop and Sentinel Drive parking area. Granite masonry work continues thru the week beginning July 17. Asphalt pavement patching is scheduled for the week beginning July 24. The contractor is also working on construction of traffic diverters (or raised medians) at the valley chapel parking area and Sentinel Drive intersections at Northside and Southside Drives. Completion of work depends on the readiness of labor and availability of equipment and materials. (J. Donovan)

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Yosemite Valley Shuttle Bus Stop Improvements

The NPS contractor continues work at seven sites for new pavement construction in Yosemite Village, Curry Village, and on Happy Isles Loop. Disruption and delays in traffic circulation are to be expected. The contractor is authorized to conduct traffic control operations Monday through Thursday. (J. Donovan)

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Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment

The contractor has completed work in Wawona and in Yosemite Valley. However, vehicle chargers are not available until the units can be energized and commissioning is complete. Until further notice, working charging stations are limited to eight at Yosemite Valley Lodge, two at the Ahwahnee Hotel, one at the Village Store, and two between the El Portal market and gas station. (J. Donovan)

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Dispatch Expansion Project

The Dispatch Expansion project will convert most of the El Portal Warehouse lobby into office space for the Emergency Communications (Dispatch) Center. The lobby area is an active construction zone and therefore is off-limits to non-construction workers. To access the Dispatch office area, follow the signs in through the Trails area door just inside the fence/gate. Warehouse occupants and visitors need to use alternate means of ingress/egress until that portion of the construction is finished. Do not enter through the RMS building unless you work there. Expect intermittent construction noise throughout the project, which is scheduled to be completed in September of 2023. Contact Nicole Belle Isle, Project Manager, for more information. (N. Belle Isle)

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Riverbank Restoration Between Sugar Pine Bridge and Ahwahnee Bridge, June through August

The Vegetation and Ecological Restoration branch will be conducting riverbank restoration work between Sugar Pine Bridge and just past Ahwahnee Bridge from June-August. This project will remove riprap from the riverbank, plant willows and other native species, and install an engineered log jam at one location on the riverbank to enhance riparian habitat and mitigate the effects of Sugar Pine Bridge on the Merced River. This restoration project is part of the Merced Wild and Scenic River Management Plan, which aims to reverse some of the past human impacts to meadows and riverbanks, to protect and enhance river values, and to promote public access and enjoyment of the river. To learn more about this effort, visit: https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/mercedriverrestoration.htm (E. Dickman)