Second Rock Fall Reported at Yosemite's El Capitan a Day After Climber Was Killed
The day after a plummeting rocks at Yosemite National Park left a climber dead and another injured, the park experienced another major rock fall off the popular El Capitan rock formation.
Park authorities closed Northside Drive leaving Yosemite Valley due to the rock fall, the park said on Thursday.
The rockslide took place around 3:30 p.m., according to KNTV, a local NBC affiliate. It was unknown if there were any injuries in the second rockslide to hit the park this week.
Northside Drive exiting Yosemite Valley is closed due to a new rockfall off of El Capitan. Use Southside Drive to exit Yosemite Valley.
— Yosemite National Pk (@YosemiteNPS) September 28, 2017
Visitors to the park posted on social media Thursday afternoon about seeing the second rock fall, with many noting the clouds around the fall and the loud sound of the slide.
Broke loose again, we just topped out. Ground shaking, rockfall crossed road
A post shared by Ryan Sheridan (@ryansheridan) on Sep 28, 2017 at 3:23pm PDT
#BREAKING: Another rock fall near #ElCapitan in @YosemiteNPS. My photographer and I witnessed the whole ordeal, it was so loud, thunderous. pic.twitter.com/6J3xmieMet
— Connie Tran (@MissConnieTran) September 28, 2017
The first set of rock falls on Wednesday started from the southeast face of El Capitan. Seven rock falls took place over a four-hour span, causing about 1,300 tons of rock to fall, according to the National Park Service. The sheet of granite fell from a spot about 1,800 feet above the Yosemite Valley ground.
Fall is a peak climbing season for the park because of the good weather, so officials said on Wednesday they expect lots of visitors during this time.
After the incident on Thursday, Yosemite officials said on Twitter that park visitors should use Southside Drive to exit Yosemite Valley.
