About two hours before Yosemite National Park’s famous Firefall phenomenon was expected to be visible on Saturday, Yosemite Valley parking was at capacity.
The annual spectacle — when the setting sun makes El Capitan’s Horsetail Fall look like a stream of orange lava — attracts thousands of tourists and photographers on clear February days. For the last three years, the park has managed the crowds by requiring visitors to book their park entries in advance on weekends when the Firefall is visible.
But this year, Yosemite did away with that policy, which has long been criticized by local tourism groups who said it hurt their business. Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden said at a community meeting last week that there would be traffic controls near El Capitan but no restrictions at the park gates.
But on the first Saturday of Firefall visibility, some of the visitors hoping for a glimpse of the glowing waterfall received a stark message: Parking in Yosemite Valley was full by late afternoon. Firefall is most spectacular 5 to 15 minutes before sunset, which was at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
«All parking in Yosemite Valley is full,» the park said in an alert at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. «Avoid entering Yosemite Valley.»
Such alerts have occasionally come at times in the past, on busy summer weekends. And stormy weather will soon be closing in on Yosemite, as is true for the rest of California.