California has reopened a beautiful hotspot that called the 'eighth miracle in the world' that was flooded with tourists and needed thousands of repairs.
The most important paths to Burney Falls, one of the natural miracles of the state, were temporarily closed in February 2024 after an increase in tourists resulted in extensive 'critical' repairs of $ 835,000.
Now the beautiful 129-foot waterfalls have been quietly reopened.
Aaron Wright, head of public safety for the northern district of the State Park, said Sfgate: 'Every form of press brings people here. That's why we opened it without a fanfare. '
Burney is in the Cascade Foothills with only about 3,000 inhabitants for about 4.5 hours from San Francisco.
The waterfalls were once called 'the eighth miracle in the world' by President Theodore Roosevelt and is located in the Cascade Range and Modoc Plateau Natural Region, with forest and five miles of electricity and more.
'It's beautiful. Everyone should come and see it, “she said. 'I have seen Niagara Falls – Burney Falls is beautiful. It is of course. There is not all the concrete. And it bubbles out of the ground. '
Before the closure, cars were seen stacked along Highway 89 while tourists flowed to the highly visited waterfalls in Mcarthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park.
During the high season, from April to October, the waterfall would attract around 250,000 visitors a year -but the Covid -19 Pandemie came to 350,000 that number.
California reopened Burney Falls, a beautiful hotspot, called the 'Eighth Wonder of the World', which was flooded with tourists and needed thousands of repairs
Aaron Wright, head of public safety for the northern district of the State Park system said: 'The park has extreme visitors. There are many complaints for Highway 89 due to traffic. The park was built 100 years ago and not intended for this part of the visit '
During the high season, from April to October, the waterfall would attract around 250,000 visitors a year – but the Covid -19 Pandemie, that number of excuses to 350,000
Wright added: 'The park has extreme visitors. There are many complaints for Highway 89 due to traffic. The park was built 100 years ago and not intended for this volume of visitors. '
Tourism drank, with social media that served as an important contribution, and many considered the situation as unsafe.
“There were 30 people who had parked on the side of the road,” said Voltura after stumbling over the stage while she and her husband drove through it.
'Their cars were in the ditch and some walked along the highway with small children.
“I just closed my eyes, thinking that someone would be injured. It is not a safe situation, “she told the outlet.
Last year the closures of Falls Loop Trail and Burney Creek Trail, visitation was heavily discouraged despite the rest of the park that remained open to the public.
A sign was placed about an hour away in Rescue to fully visit travelers to fully visit the park.
The swimming pool of the waterfall and the Valpool was also limited and the visitor volume plumbled, so that the small town of Burney ran six miles away with companies that lose a large part of their customer base.
“It was pretty harmful,” said Kristen Hiller, owner and chef at Buitenpost Steakhouse. 'We got informed at the last minute, it was a month informed when they said,' Surprise, we close the entire summer. “Everyone said,” Oh my God. ” '
'It's beautiful. Everyone should come and see it, “said Connie Voltura. 'I have seen Niagara Falls – Burney Falls is beautiful. It is of course. There is not all the concrete. And it bubbles out of the ground. '
The swimming pool of the waterfall and the Valpool was also limited and the visitor volume plummeted, so that the small town of Burney ran six miles away with companies that lose a large amount of their customer base
Burney is in the Cascade Foothills with only about 3,000 inhabitants for about 4.5 hours from San Francisco. The waterfalls were once called 'the eighth miracle in the world' by President Theodore Roosevelt
The closures followed two years of unhappy happiness for the companies in the area.
Two years ago, the Burney Water District suffered an E. coli outbreak in the drinking water, followed by the Shelly Fire near Mount Shasta in July, both diverted countless quantities of tourists.
'Our company fell by 45 percent. We rely on many international journeys, and they avoided last year because of both the waterfalls and the fires. What saved us were Calfire and PG&E employees, “John McCarty, asset manager of Shasta Pines Motel & Suites, told Sfgate.
But despite the high costs to repair and upgrade the park, the locals are still worried about road safety on Highway 89.
“It's so dangerous. People ride 55 MPH at a blind turn, “said Hiller.
Voltura said: 'I don't know how Caltrans will tackle that, but it should certainly be solved because there is a terrible accident. They have to do something. People will come. '
The Park website now warns those who want to park along the road and warns visitors that they will be subject to a quote and drag if they do.
It also discourages walking along the highway because of the speed limit of 55 MPH and a large volume of semitrucks that goes through.
But despite the dangerous number of visitors that the park has welcomed in the past, they will be a feast for painful eyes among local entrepreneurs.
“I hope this year that people are coming back,” said Louann Strureman, owner of the Burney Motel.
“People were planning to come and suddenly they changed their plans because they couldn't do what they wanted to do.”
