Travellers urged to maintain Yosemite plans despite forest fire warning

Holidaymakers with plans to visit Yosemite National Park have been urged not to cancel their plans despite a wildfire raging between 15 and 20 km away.

The Oak Fire began in Mariposa County on Friday (July 22) and has burned around 17,000 acres of woodland, causing 3,600 residents to be evacuated.

Despite this, Tony McDaniel, director of communications for the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, has encouraged visitors to continue to come to the area, saying firefighters expect the blaze to be “fully contained” by the end of the week.

MORE: Evacuation orders issued near Athens due to wildfires

He said: “Our advice is to keep your holiday and travel plans to visit Yosemite Mariposa County. Cal Fire estimates the Oak Fire burning in Mariposa County, 15-20km from Yosemite Valley, will be fully contained by July 30.

“If visitors have plans in the next few days, we ask that they do their own research on air quality inside of the park and at their choice of lodging.

“Yosemite National Park is open and it is safe to visit, but smoke can drift for long distances. Smoke is unhealthy to breathe in for long periods of time and could diminish the captivating views Yosemite is known for.”

McDaniel continued: “In order to recover from this highly impactful event on our community, we will need people to return to the region and we expect that it will be safe to do that in the coming days and weeks.”

“We ask the visitors who have flexibility and are still several weeks away from visiting the area not to cancel their trips. Nearly half of our county’s population is employed in the tourism industry. The people that live here rely on visitation to support their families.”