Rockfall closes Big Oak Flat Road

A LARGE ROCKSLIDE Sunday night covered Big Oak Flat Road, closing it indefinitely. Courtesy photo/National Park Service

The road will remain closed between the Foresta and El Portal roads after a “house-sized” boulder smashed onto the road, bringing down trees, mud and other debris with it, according to park spokesman Scott Gediman.

“This type of rockfall is fairly common here in Yosemite,” Gediman said. “We first remove debris and we can just re-open it if there’s no damage to the road bed. But it becomes more complicated if there’s major damage.”
 The rock fell at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. There were no reported injuries.     

Structural and civil engineers were en route Monday to the park to help formulate a strategy for removing the debris from the road and assess the damage.    

Gediman said the portion of the road will be closed for at least a couple weeks, but could remain impassible for two months, depending on the damage.    

“We’re simply hoping for the best,” he said. “It’s just day by day, there’s still a lot of unknowns.”    

The rockfall could have economic ramifications for southern Tuolumne County businesses that rely on park-tourist traffic.   

Highway 120 becomes Big Oak Flat Road when it enters the park and serves as an entrance to Yosemite Valley for motorists coming from Northern California and the Bay Area. 

Yosemite Valley is now only accessible from Highway 140 and Highway 41. Yosemite National Park remains open despite the Highway 120 closure, according to Gediman.    

Jerry Baker, a director for the Yosemite Chamber of Commerce, said the potential for a lengthy closure is of particular concern for businesses along Highway 120 on the way to Yosemite Valley.   

“The Yosemite visitors are a huge part of the revenue stream for our local businesses,” he said.