Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
SERVICE ALERT:

Our 88.7 transmitter site sustained a fire of unknown origin. We have installed a bypass that has returned us to full power for most, though repairs are still ongoing. Our HD service remains inoperable. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we continue to work on the transmitter. Online streaming remains unaffected.

Rockfall Kills 1 Person At Yosemite National Park

El Capitan soars over Yosemite National Park in California. A rockfall that killed one person and injured another was reported on Wednesday from the site, which is popular with climbers.
Mark Ralston
/
AFP/Getty Images
El Capitan soars over Yosemite National Park in California. A rockfall that killed one person and injured another was reported on Wednesday from the site, which is popular with climbers.

Updated 11:15 p.m. ET

One person has been killed and another injured by a rockfall from El Capitan, according to authorities at Yosemite National Park in California.

A statement says rangers are assessing the situation but the park remains open.

"The release point appears to be near the "Waterfall Route", a popular climbing route on the East Buttress of El Capitan. This is the area where Horsetail Falls flows in winter and spring conditions. ...

This is the climbing season in Yosemite National Park and there are many climbers on El Capitan and other climbing routes in the park."

The Fresno Bee reports, "The rockfall was quickly noted on a climber's website, where one climber described a sheet of rock that gave way and posted a photo showing dust billowing."

The Associated Press interviewed climber Kevin Jorgeson, who said he saw a massive rockfall in the same area in 2015. "Yosemite is just a really active, wild place. It's always changing," he said. "It doesn't make it any less tragic when someone gets in the way of that."

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Barbara Campbell