Heavy snow, dangerous road conditions close Yosemite National Park

After days of heavy snow left roads dangerous and impassable, Yosemite National Park closed to visitors Saturday. It will not reopen until Thursday.

“Over the past few days, we’ve had a lot of cars spinning out,” park spokesman Scott Gediman said, adding that there had been no injuries. “We couldn’t keep up with clearing the roads, so we made the decision today to close the park.”

He said visitors had been asked to clear out, but some residents and employees remained in the valley. “There is power out in some places of the park; it’s intermittent, so we’re hunkering down like everybody else,” he said. “I’ve been a ranger here for 27 years and I have not seen this much snow.”

According to the National Weather Service, Yosemite Valley is under a winter storm watch from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon, with the possibility of up to 69 inches of snow and wind gusts up to 40 mph.