Yosemite Valley Closing For Weekend Storms

YOSEMITE (AP) - Residents of California from the coastline to the Sierra Nevada are bracing for heavy rain and snow that's already shut down Yosemite National Park and is expected to swell rivers and topple trees.

Rangers at Yosemite on Friday closed access to the valley floor, raising memories of flooding in 1997 that forced the park to shut down for two months.

On the coast in Santa Cruz - where up to a foot of rain could fall in places - officials have set up sand bag stations for residents.

"We're giving them a shovel and the sand and showing them how to fill them up," said Jason Hoppin, a Santa Cruz County spokesman. "We haven't seen rain like this in a long time."

The heavy rains come as California enters a sixth year of drought, starting in October with more rain falling than in three decades, mostly in Northern California. Los Angeles is experiencing the wettest winter in six years, forecasters say.

Forecasters anticipate the storm surge stretching from Hawaii in the Pacific - called an atmospheric river - could dump up to eight inches of rain from Sonoma to Monterey counties. Forecasters warn of mudslides on the Central Coast hard hit this summer by scarring wildfires.

The storm's mild temperatures will drive up the snowline to above 9,000 feet throughout the Sierra Nevada, causing runoff in the lower elevations, said Zach Tolby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno.

The Truckee River, which flows from Lake Tahoe and through Reno, is forecast to rise to its highest point in more than a decade, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a flood warning.

Mammoth, which is at a higher elevation in the Southern Sierra, could receive up to eight feet of snow, Tolby said, adding that another storm early next week could deliver another three feet of snow.

Access to Yosemite's valley will close at 5 p.m. Friday ahead of stormy conditions beginning early Saturday. Other parts of the park will remain open, but rangers caution visitors to be aware of ice and debris on the roads. The closure is expected at least Sunday through, officials said.

Early Friday, Yosemite spokeswoman Jamie Richards said that rangers stood watch for flooding along the Merced River, a major river flowing through the towering granite peaks.

"We're prepared," said Richards, adding that they're accustomed to life in a giant canyon with frequent, rain, snow, ice and rock falls. "We have a lot of things we deal with on a frequent basis."

Rangers are keeping an especially close eye on Pohono Bridge, which crosses the Merced River deep in Yosemite Valley. Richards said that flooding there starts when the water level reaches 10 feet, but on Thursday the watermark hit just four feet.

A large storm in 1997 flooded Yosemite Valley, closing the park for two months and washing out roads, lodging and campgrounds.

Rangers don't expect damage like they experienced 20 years ago because the snowpack isn't as deep. They've moved buildings away from the river, and increased drainage, Richards said.

"What happened in 1997 is not a comparison with what's happening today, she said.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.