A wildfire burning about a dozen miles west of Yosemite National Park is pumping huge clouds of smoke into Yosemite and raising concerns that it could threaten the park in the coming days.

Grand Canyon National Park will implement mandatory Level 2 water conservation measures due to diminished water resources. All concessions operations will switch to disposable dishes and utensils, alter menus to use less water for food prep and dish washing, adopt low water use for hotel room cleaning, and serve drinking water at restaurants by request only.

On Thursday, July 21, at 7:45 PM, Big Bend National Park’s Communications Center received notice of a fatality along the Chimneys Trail. Rangers responded, and a deceased 75-year-old male from Houston was located approximately ½ mile from the trailhead. There was no obvious cause of death.

There will be intermittent 30-minute closures on a section of the Teton Crest Trail near the summit of Paintbrush Divide between July 21-26, August 4-9, and August 18-23. Visitors planning on hiking over Paintbrush Divide during these dates should expect delays in both directions.