Yosemite Photos, Video and News

Daily Report - Yosemite National Park
Friday, April 8, 2011

WEATHER

Yosemite Valley
Today: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Tonight: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 45.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 50.

El Portal
Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.

Wawona
Today: Scattered snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tonight: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.

Washington
Today: Stormy.

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HAPPENING TODAY

Crane Flat Store Opening
The Crane Flat Store will open for the season today, April 8th. Store hours are 9am - 5pm daily, gas is available 24 hours a day with pay at the pump. (W. Kearns - 4/5)
Lower Pines Campground Opening
Lower Pines Campground will open for the season today. (M. Carter - 4/6)

Wawona Hotel Opening
The Wawona Hotel is scheduled to open to the public today. Starting Monday April 11th, contractors will begin work to repave the Wawona Hotel parking areas and the Wawona Store Parking Lot. (E. Scott - 4/7)

SharePoint 2010 Orientation Sessions
Orientation sessions highlighting the differences between the current version of SharePoint and SharePoint 2010 will be held today. Cast your vote on whether to upgrade sooner or later--this is your opportunity to affect the decision! There is no sign-up and you do not need to bring a computer. Please contact Paul Gallez at 372-0250 for more information. The sessions will be held at 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-3:30pm. in the Large Breakroom in El Portal. (P. Gallez - 4/6)

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PARK AND PARK PARTNER NEWS

Tuolumne Meadows Winter Conditions Update (4/1 - 4/6)
High temp: 63°
Low temp: 16°
New Snow: 1 inch
Total settled snow depth: 70” as of April 6

Ski Conditions and Weather: This will be the last weekly update for the winter of 2010-11. Spring has finally arrived and it has settled the snow quite a bit. We even had a thunderstorm last Saturday. More unsettled weather is expected starting tomorrow, bringing more snow to our unbelievable snowpack. Skiing is hard and fast in the mornings and softening up in the afternoon. Expect skiing conditions to change daily. Caltrans has not started plowing HWY 120 from the Lee Vining side yet.

Avalanche and Snowpack Conditions: For the latest avalanche advisory for this area go to www.esavalanche.org for the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events.

Wildlife: Tracks seen this week: mainly Pine Marten, weasel, White-tailed Jackrabbit, Chickaree, and Coyote, along with many tiny rodent tracks. The spring migration has started. Birds seen and heard this week include the Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Evening Grosbeak, American Robin, Swallows, Dark-eyed Junco, and Clark’s Nutcracker.

Bear canisters are now required for overnight backcountry travel. Power and phones are out of service indefinitely. Come prepared, there is no electricity or phone service at the ski hut. (K. Younger - 4/7)

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CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Foresta Road Closed Until Further Notice Between Barium Mine Road and Old El Portal
Due to safety concerns associated with the recent slide on the Foresta Road, it is now closed to all vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the intersection of the Barium Mine Road and Old El Portal. The road will remain closed until further notice. Middle Road will remain open between the intersection of the Foresta Road and CA State Highway 140 (Access to and from Middle Road will be limited to CA St. Hwy. 140). As further information becomes available, it will be updated in the Daily Report. If you have questions or concerns please contact Michael Pieper at (209) 379-1263 or (209) 742-8593. (M. Pieper - 3/30)
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Traffic Delays on the El Portal Road
Traffic delays have begun on the El Portal Road to stabilize a rock slide area near Dog Rock (approx. 0.25 miles east of the western park entrance). The contractor works from sun-up to sun-down, Monday thru Friday, with up to 30-minute delays (except during the commuter hours of 6:30 and 8:30 AM in the mornings and 4:00 to 6:00 PM in the afternoon, when there will be a maximum of 15 minute delays). The contractor will have one lane traffic control with flaggers. This project includes rock scaling and bolting to help stabilize an area that slid during the December 30, 2010 storm and again during March's storm event. The current schedule is to have the work completed prior to Easter. (M. Pieper - 3/29)

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EMPLOYEE NEWS

2011 Redcards
Spring is here which means it’s time to think about your annual redcard update. Please visit the Redcard Sharepoint Site: Click on Protection > Communications > Redcards. On the site, find the employment type that describes you and print out the corresponding forms. It is a confusing process this year with the temporary medical standards; please try to follow the directions as closely as possible. Also on the site, upcoming fire safety refresher dates, upcoming pack test dates, and redcard contacts. Questions about Redcards can be directed to Ansley Rothell at Yosemite Dispatch 209-379-1191. (A. Rothell - 4/7)
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Restoration Worker Job Opening
WG-5 Restoration Worker positions with the Branch of Vegetation and Restoration have been announced on USAJobs and will close 4/11. Successful applicants hired from this announcement may find themselves involved in one or more of the following:
- Backpacking the High Sierra to remove and restore campsites and map/remove exotic plants
- Dayhiking, backpacking, and completing restoration work on mountain peak and subalpine meadow projects
- Montane meadow restoration (using heavy equipment and hand tools) (A. Johnson - 4/7)

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ACTING DESIGNATIONS

Ryan Leahy will be acting Chief of Wildlife Management on Friday, April 8th. He can be reached at 372-0476.

John Barton will be acting Supervisor of El Portal Utilities from April 7th-April 19th while George Harders is out of the park. John can be reached at 209-379-1825 or 209-379-1826.

Jay Shields will be Acting Mather District Ranger until further notice.

Brenna Lissoway (379-1283) will be the Acting Park Archivist while Paul Rogers is on a detail as the Acting Regional Archivist (PWR). If you have need to access the Archives, or have archive related questions, you can call 379-1282 or 379-1104.