Image
© Craig Kohlruss/The Fresno BeeYosemite Falls and the swollen Merced River and make a scenic photo for a visitor on Monday, June 13, in Yosemite Valley.
The rising Merced River today may force some Yosemite Valley campers to higher ground, the National Park Service says.

As June temperatures climb, the near-record snowpack is melting faster, which may cause flooding in Yosemite National Park for several days, according to the federal River Forecast Center.

The problem is not expected to damage buildings, but flooding might force officials to re-route traffic on Southside Drive.

Park officials say they are telling more than 1,600 campers near the river about the risk.

"We don't know how many people might be affected," said park spokesman Scott Gediman. "We will move people to safer sites, depending on where the water goes."

The highest flows occur in the evening hours, officials said, after daytime temperatures have melted high-country snow.

It takes hours for the flow to come down to 4,000-foot-elevation Yosemite Valley.

The weather is expected to cool down later in the week, meaning high flows should subside by the weekend, officials said.

Yosemite valley flood forecast
© The Fresno Bee
Meteorologists said minor flooding should be anticipated today and Wednesday along streams in many mountain and foothill locations.

"People should know there is danger from cold, fast-moving streams," said James Brotherton, of the National Weather Service's Hanford office.

In Yosemite Valley, nearly 600 camp sites near the Merced are occupied in North Pines, Upper Pines and Lower Pines campgrounds as well as Housekeeping Camp, according to park officials and the park's concession operator, DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite.

If campers have to move, they could be sent to another camping spot in the valley or a motel in the park.

While camp sites are typically booked solid at this time of year, park officials said they would juggle and do all they could to accommodate campers.

Officials also said they are trying to contact people with reservations this week to advise them of the situation, allowing them to decide if they want to reschedule.

The river already has crept into Chapel Meadow, near Yosemite Chapel, Gediman said. The Merced's flow on Monday was within inches of Swinging Bridge, near Southside Drive.

If the water gets onto Southside Drive, park officials will close that road and shift traffic to Northside Drive.

"We had to close Southside Drive in 2006," Gediman said. "The water was about ankle deep."