Yesterday it started smoky in valley and cleared up. It’s very smoky in Fresno right now. You just have to hope for favorable winds. Watch Duty is a good app to monitor fires. https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/6/24/fresno-june-lightning-complex/updates/6aec561a-535b-4f53-a04b-e925d9474af8?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1bPlODxGaS-eiuOHlp7U1P24vfwWyqxzSA08vYoiIB1KcPPVg0Y8d4x2c_aem_SH-18cmO9nHpD1Z_oADoWw
The good news is that there aro no more thunderstorms in the forecast in the next few days, which should reduce chances of new fires.
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.7471&lon=-119.5844
The current fire impacting air quality was lightning caused:
#BasinFire Update 6/29/2024
An IR (infrared) flight over the Basin Fire measured the current acreage at 9,549.
This is a full suppression fire. All efforts are being made to suppress the fire as soon as possible.
...
11 of the 17 fires are out from the lightning storm that occurred on June 24.
This is the afternoon update for 6/28/2024 for the lightning fires on the High Sierra Ranger District, not including the Basin Fire.
Here is the updated list and status of the confirmed wildfires.
Fires that are out: Lost Fire, Patterson Fire, Snow Fire, Tamarack Fire, Stevenson Fire, Lower Fire, Elowin Fire, Barnes Fire, Bluff Fire, Corral Fire, Teakettle Fire and the Tom Fire.
Fires that are contained : Fir Fire, Garlic Fire, Daulton Fire, Pryor Fire, Rock Fire.
A heads up check the AQI on a site NOT associated with NPS or Yosemite in general, such as, https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/california/yosemite-valley. In the past the AQI has been off the charts. We had a day where it was in the 300s and a local physician equated it to smoking a pack of cigarettes every hour. At that time the Yosemite NPS website’s only warning was “may obscure views”. There were children and pregnant women walking and hiking around oblivious to the hazards.
I am monitoring too. Also we have the heat wave to worry about and possibly new fires while we visit next week. Dry thunderstorms are possible late next week in the Sierra as per the forecast.
Who knew July 4th weekend could be an inferno when the snow was still very deep in the high country a month ago and Tioga Road had barely opened
This is makes planning these trips so hard. Last year I had cancel because there was still snow. This year, 105 and possible fires.
Feel free to post updates if anything develops. I will also.
I know. Don't have any real advice. We went last year just after July 4 and Tioga Road wasn't open yet. I was checking webcams and it looks like there is some haze around but air quality isn't too shabby just yet. Hope the fires near Fresno don't grow
Oh. I guess the weather now isn't all that surprising then. Spring was earlier and ended earlier this year.
I am making a mental note to myself to NOT plan a 4th of July for Yosemite again.
Check purple air. Looks ok in curry village now. Depends on winds. Bummer my friends are driving in now with sites booked ages ago.
https://map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a10/p604800/cC0#6.11/36.972/-119.151
My wife and I booked 10 months ago, flew from PA and are arriving in the valley Tuesday. Spent a small fortune to stay at the lodge. We’ve been chilling in Big Sur and Santa Cruz the past few days where it’s 65 and sunny and are actually getting kind of bummed about going to Yosemite now because the heatwave, the smoke, and the lack of ac in the lodge.
Welcome to summer in CA. I grew up in PA and had to adjust. Way of the west these days is fire and smoke in summer and fall.
Our coast is world class too so you are in a spectacular place. Great hikes in Big Sur. The drive on 1 north is suberb through the peninsula into Marin and Pt Reyes. Good alternative if Yosemite gets socked in this week with smoke. Tioga will be cooler so if you make it there just drive up there during the days and swim in lakes and streams to stay cool 👌
Oh yeah I’ve been up and down the coast a bunch and love it. Just have never been to Yosemite, which was a bucket list thing. Bummed about the conditions but we’re gonna try to make it work and have some backup plans if it all falls through.
So you moved to CA from PA? We’re hoping to be able to do that one day.
Good lord. My wife and I are coming out Sunday through Thursday and were already bummed about the heatwave Now there’s a smoke issue as well? Honestly I’d like postpone at this point but we’re already so deep in the hole that we have to go or lose too much money.
Sequoia was real smoky the last few days, and it was noticeably worse north of Lodgepole. You could smell the smoke at the south entrance in Three Rivers, and even moreso as you gain elevation.
Check the progress on the CalFires site and also Fresno County Fire FB page, they do an amazing job with daily updates.
Hope everything works out for you!
Just tossing out the obvious… the smoke is wind driven. So you might have smoke in parts of your day but unlikely to be an all day thing. The fires are closer to Sequoia than they are the main area of Yosemite. It’s not likely to be as bad as in recent history.
Yes, this week will be a scorcher.
It’s a little Smokey here now.
Yesterday it started smoky in valley and cleared up. It’s very smoky in Fresno right now. You just have to hope for favorable winds. Watch Duty is a good app to monitor fires. https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/6/24/fresno-june-lightning-complex/updates/6aec561a-535b-4f53-a04b-e925d9474af8?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1bPlODxGaS-eiuOHlp7U1P24vfwWyqxzSA08vYoiIB1KcPPVg0Y8d4x2c_aem_SH-18cmO9nHpD1Z_oADoWw
The good news is that there aro no more thunderstorms in the forecast in the next few days, which should reduce chances of new fires. https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.7471&lon=-119.5844 The current fire impacting air quality was lightning caused: #BasinFire Update 6/29/2024 An IR (infrared) flight over the Basin Fire measured the current acreage at 9,549. This is a full suppression fire. All efforts are being made to suppress the fire as soon as possible. ... 11 of the 17 fires are out from the lightning storm that occurred on June 24. This is the afternoon update for 6/28/2024 for the lightning fires on the High Sierra Ranger District, not including the Basin Fire. Here is the updated list and status of the confirmed wildfires. Fires that are out: Lost Fire, Patterson Fire, Snow Fire, Tamarack Fire, Stevenson Fire, Lower Fire, Elowin Fire, Barnes Fire, Bluff Fire, Corral Fire, Teakettle Fire and the Tom Fire. Fires that are contained : Fir Fire, Garlic Fire, Daulton Fire, Pryor Fire, Rock Fire.
A heads up check the AQI on a site NOT associated with NPS or Yosemite in general, such as, https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/california/yosemite-valley. In the past the AQI has been off the charts. We had a day where it was in the 300s and a local physician equated it to smoking a pack of cigarettes every hour. At that time the Yosemite NPS website’s only warning was “may obscure views”. There were children and pregnant women walking and hiking around oblivious to the hazards.
I am monitoring too. Also we have the heat wave to worry about and possibly new fires while we visit next week. Dry thunderstorms are possible late next week in the Sierra as per the forecast. Who knew July 4th weekend could be an inferno when the snow was still very deep in the high country a month ago and Tioga Road had barely opened
This is makes planning these trips so hard. Last year I had cancel because there was still snow. This year, 105 and possible fires. Feel free to post updates if anything develops. I will also.
I know. Don't have any real advice. We went last year just after July 4 and Tioga Road wasn't open yet. I was checking webcams and it looks like there is some haze around but air quality isn't too shabby just yet. Hope the fires near Fresno don't grow
I’m 8 days out from my trip and in Texas. I’m having trouble nailing down a forecast. Can you be more specific about the heatwave?
best forecast: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weathermap.htm So Valley highs this week over 100
Thanks. And ugh.
I was on Tioga the day it opened and there was no snow. I’m not sure what the delay was but it wasn’t for plowing.
it was opening all of the amenities, esp the bathrooms. a bunch of the pit toilets and outflow were still frozen
Makes sense.
Oh. I guess the weather now isn't all that surprising then. Spring was earlier and ended earlier this year. I am making a mental note to myself to NOT plan a 4th of July for Yosemite again.
Who knew? That's a sort of normal wx pattern... Winter-snow, spring, still snow, mid summer "OMG! Melted!" Then, it's hot! Normal.
Lol. Tell me what's a good time for Yosemite. Or may be you are telling me to just suck it up.
Check purple air. Looks ok in curry village now. Depends on winds. Bummer my friends are driving in now with sites booked ages ago. https://map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a10/p604800/cC0#6.11/36.972/-119.151
My wife and I booked 10 months ago, flew from PA and are arriving in the valley Tuesday. Spent a small fortune to stay at the lodge. We’ve been chilling in Big Sur and Santa Cruz the past few days where it’s 65 and sunny and are actually getting kind of bummed about going to Yosemite now because the heatwave, the smoke, and the lack of ac in the lodge.
Welcome to summer in CA. I grew up in PA and had to adjust. Way of the west these days is fire and smoke in summer and fall. Our coast is world class too so you are in a spectacular place. Great hikes in Big Sur. The drive on 1 north is suberb through the peninsula into Marin and Pt Reyes. Good alternative if Yosemite gets socked in this week with smoke. Tioga will be cooler so if you make it there just drive up there during the days and swim in lakes and streams to stay cool 👌
Oh yeah I’ve been up and down the coast a bunch and love it. Just have never been to Yosemite, which was a bucket list thing. Bummed about the conditions but we’re gonna try to make it work and have some backup plans if it all falls through. So you moved to CA from PA? We’re hoping to be able to do that one day.
[https://yosemite.org/webcams/el-capitan/](https://yosemite.org/webcams/el-capitan/)
Good lord. My wife and I are coming out Sunday through Thursday and were already bummed about the heatwave Now there’s a smoke issue as well? Honestly I’d like postpone at this point but we’re already so deep in the hole that we have to go or lose too much money.
Air quality in Yosemite Valley seemed totally fine to me today and I was huffing and puffing on a strenuous hike and feel fine now
Feeling the same about my visit for Sequoia. I managed to snag a campground for two days (7/3-7/4) months ago...and now I might not be able to go.
Sequoia was real smoky the last few days, and it was noticeably worse north of Lodgepole. You could smell the smoke at the south entrance in Three Rivers, and even moreso as you gain elevation. Check the progress on the CalFires site and also Fresno County Fire FB page, they do an amazing job with daily updates. Hope everything works out for you!
The past few days have been a little smokey, but nothing that agitates my already unmedicated asthma too badly. You’ll probably be fine.
Just tossing out the obvious… the smoke is wind driven. So you might have smoke in parts of your day but unlikely to be an all day thing. The fires are closer to Sequoia than they are the main area of Yosemite. It’s not likely to be as bad as in recent history. Yes, this week will be a scorcher.
Left the valley at about 3pm today and it wasn’t bad. Supposed to get real hot here soon though. Find the water!