“Disneyland-Size Crowds” Led to Super Bloom Shutdown
Are these the makings of an apocalypse?
A hit and run, a rattlesnake attack and irate residents shouting at traffic controllers are just a few incidents that sum up the super bloom crisis this past weekend in Lake Elsinore, CA.
Following a period of heavy rainfall, a plethora of golden-hued poppies bloomed and blanketed across coastal mountains and deserts. The inclement weather is the ideal condition for the wildflowers to be in ‘superbloom mode.’
“Blooms like this are a rare thing,” said Neil Frakes, the vegetation branch manager at Joshua Tree National Park. “We want as many people as possible to enjoy it, but it’s really impacted by trampling.”
This past weekend, city officials of Lake Elsinore, CA – a small town of nearly 66,000 residents – shut down Walker Canyon in an effort to mitigate the havoc wreaked by the influx of visitors pilgrimaging to see the super bloom.
Since the poppies bloomed on the steep side of Walker Canyon, and not on a flat stretch of land, visitors took to free climbing to get their Instagram-worthy shot.
Nearly 50,000 visitors showed up and with that, a plethora of problems led to the shutdown: traffic congestion, a hit and run, a snake biting a visitor, crying children, scraped knees, toppling boulders and damage to the poppy fields were all matters of public safety concerns.
An announcement was made in a Lake Elsinore Facebook post that, “The situation has escalated beyond our available resources…This weekend has been unbearable Lake Elsinore.”
Walker Canyon has since reopened, but officials are requesting that visitors wait a few days since it’s a matter of public safety.
[Image Source: Wikimedia/ Doncram]
This is why we can’t have nice things...