Visitor's Center On Trail Ridge Road Closed Due To Smoke From Cameron Peak Fire
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (CBS4) -- Rocky Mountain National Park officials closed the Visitor's Center atop Trail Ridge Road mid-afternoon Monday due to smoky conditions.
Four large wildfires are currently burning in Colorado's high country, all with little or no containment.
One of them, the Cameron Peak Fire, is approximately four miles from the park's northwest boundary. It started on Aug. 13th and firefighters have not been able to established secure lines around it.
The Visitor's Center was closed due to air quality issues, the park stated via Twitter. It did not indicate whether the Visitor's Center would re-open Tuesday under its normal business hours.
The park had previously warned its visitors about smoke causing visibility and breathing issues. Three days ago, a ban on all fires was announced.
The hot, dry weather that contributed to the state's fire-prone conditions is not relenting, either. No significant rainfall is foreseeable in the next two weeks.
RMNP is still operating under a reservation system. Visitors must obtain a permit to guarantee access.
The park, and nearby Estes Park, closed completely for weeks in the spring as municipalities and tourism destinations wrestled with initial reactions to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States.
