Yosemite cleaning up after weekend flood

Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Yosemite cleaning up after weekend flood
While bringing impressive scenery to Yosemite National Park, the weekend storm also impacted some of the campsites.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (KFSN) -- The weekend storm has led to impressive waterfalls and raging rivers in Yosemite National Park.

The sights were enough to make visitors stop and stare on Monday, while park officials cleaned up the aftermath.

"We had 3.5 to 4 feet of water throughout Yosemite Valley, so campsites and structures were certainly impacted," said Ranger Scott Gediman.

The Yosemite valley floor was closed to the public Friday night in preparation for the storm.

Over the weekend, the Merced River rose 4 feet over its flood stage, pushing water into Housekeeping Camp. Inside the structures are mounds of debris left behind by the floods. Crews are hoping to have it cleaned and ready to open by Friday.

"We're still doing assessments. We had some impacts to the electrical system and the wastewater system, so we certainly did have some impacts," said Gediman.

The National Park Service is still tallying up the cost of the damages, but officials say that luckily, no one was injured.

Park visitors who planned to see the park over the weekend are glad the park played it safe.

"The park service did a good job of closing because when you have water that high, people cant get out, the roads are closed, people are stuck in knee-deep water," said Barry Olson.

Several campgrounds are open, but some campsites are still seeing some water.