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Squatters, BASE jumpers take over Yosemite National Park amid shutdown: report
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Squatters have moved into Yosemite National Park’s campgrounds and rule-breakers are pushing boundaries as ranger patrols are stretched thin during the prolonged federal shutdown, according to a park employee who described growing disorder inside the park.
“There are lots of squatters in the campgrounds,” the employee told SFGATE. “There are lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers. They’ve told us.”
The employee said only one wilderness ranger is currently working the entire park — and that person is technically a volunteer, not a National Park Service (NPS) employee.
However, the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, told Fox News Digital that those claims are inaccurate.
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Yosemite National Park has seen problems with the lack of rangers during the shutdown, according to a report. (Reuters)
“The National Park Service can confirm that the park remains appropriately staffed to ensure visitor safety and resource protection during the lapse in appropriations,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Law enforcement rangers and campground personnel continue to monitor visitor use, respond to incidents, and enforce park regulations.”
The department added that “reports suggesting that campgrounds are unmonitored or that widespread squatting is occurring are inaccurate.”
“Suggesting there is only one ranger is ludicrous,” officials said. “While we have sighted several individuals for camping in non-designated sites, it has been adequately addressed and those camp sites have been removed.”
The department also confirmed that it is “aware of reports” of escalating violations and is investigating.
“We are aware of reports of BASE jumping in Yosemite and investigate all reports,” a department spokesperson said. “BASE jumping is illegal in all national parks, including Yosemite, due to the significant safety risks it poses to participants, the public and first responders.”
Despite the shutdown, the department said the National Park Service “will continue to keep parks as accessible as possible during the lapse in appropriations.”
“Critical functions that protect life, property and public health will remain in place,” the statement continued. “Law enforcement officers remain on duty and will respond to violations, trespassing or resource damage.”
The enforcement gap has coincided with a visible rise in risk-taking behavior.
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El Capitan stands in Yosemite National Park, California, on Jan. 14, 2015. (Ben Margot, File)
Videos and images circulating on social media show BASE jumpers leaping from El Capitan, unauthorized campers occupying closed campgrounds, and climbers scaling Half Dome’s cables without permits — all in violation of park regulations.
Though Yosemite was once a hub for the sport in the 1970s, BASE jumping has been banned in national parks since the 1980s.
BASE, an acronym for Building, Antenna, Span and Earth, is described by the department as “the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, including artificial structures and natural features, using a parachute to descend to the ground.”
Officials note that violators face fines up to $5,000 or jail time under federal regulations. Enthusiasts have continued to participate in secret over the years, typically jumping at dawn or dusk to avoid detection.
An eyewitness has documented the illegal activity since the shutdown began.
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A motorist passes through the Tioga Pass fee station at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, which had no employees on hand to collect fees that help fund the park, on the first day of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025. (David McNew/Getty Images)
“You hear them before you see them,” Charles Winstead, who witnessed a dozen illegal BASE jumps in the park last week, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Then the parachute pops and there’s no more noise.”
Winstead shared a video on Instagram capturing one of the BASE jumpers, noting it was the second group he had witnessed that day.
“More base jumpers! Definitely feeling some freedom to flout the rules due to the shut down. Second group today,” the caption read.
Conservation advocates say these incidents are part of a larger pattern of disorder when national parks operate without proper staffing. During the 2018–19 shutdown, Yosemite and other parks suffered vandalism, illegal off-roading, and waste accumulation that took months to repair, according to park advocates.
“This is exactly what we warned about. And this is why national parks need to be closed until the government re-opens,” Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said in a statement on Friday. “This shutdown is making an already bad situation at national parks and public lands far worse. And the longer this goes, the worse it is going to get. The situation is dangerous and reckless for our parks, public lands and the visitors who love them.”
Visitors hike the Mist Trail toward Vernal Falls on Aug. 31, 2025, in Yosemite National Park, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The coalition, which consists of more than 40 former NPS leaders, had previously urged Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to close all 433 national park sites if government funding lapsed, citing ongoing staffing shortages.
“Leaving national parks open without National Park staff to help protect visitors and resources is not only irresponsible—it’s dangerous. We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers and we should not leave our National Parks open without NPS employees,” Thompson wrote.
According to the National Parks Conservation Association, nearly 25% of the Park Service’s permanent staff has been lost since January, leaving many parks, including Yosemite, without enough personnel to ensure visitor safety or respond quickly to emergencies.
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At the same time, the Department of the Interior has emphasized maintaining access where possible.
The department’s September 2025 contingency plan states that during a funding lapse, essential functions such as law enforcement and emergency response continue, and that most park areas “will generally remain accessible” with limited services.
Earlier this year, Burgum echoed that approach, directing that national parks “remain open and accessible,” underscoring a commitment to ensure “all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation’s most treasured places,” even with staffing constraints.
Fox News Digital reached out to Yosemite National Park officials for comment.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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It is Week 4 in the 2026 Wyoming High School boys’ swimming and diving season. It features several medium-sized competitions. After a dual in Douglas on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday are packed with meets. Jackson hosts its two-day invitational with four teams heading to Teton County. There are three-team events in Casper, Gillette, and Sheridan on Friday, plus two five-team meets at Cody and Rock Springs.
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Saturday also has swim invites at Evanston, Powell, and Sheridan. The schedule for Week 4 of the prep boys’ swimming and diving season in the Cowboy State is below. The schedule is subject to change.
RAWLINS AT DOUGLAS – dual
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CASPER TRI at NCHS – Cheyenne East, Kelly Walsh, Natrona County.
CODY INVITE – Cody, Newcastle, Powell, Riverton, Worland.
GILLETTE TRI – Campbell County, Cheyenne Central, Thunder Basin.
JACKSON INVITE – Jackson, Kemmerer, Lander, Laramie, Sublette County.
ROCK SPRINGS INVITE – Evanston, Lyman, Green River, Rawlins, Rock Springs.
SHERIDAN PRE-INVITE – Buffalo, Douglas, Sheridan.
CHEYENNE CENTRAL AT CAMPBELL COUNTY – dual
EVANSTON INVITE at Davis MS – Evanston, Green River, Lyman, Rock Springs.
GENE DOZAH INVITATIONAL at Powell – Buffalo, Cody, Newcastle, Powell, Riverton, Worland.
JACKSON INVITE – Jackson, Kemmerer, Lander, Laramie, Sublette County.
SHERIDAN INVITE – Douglas, Kelly Walsh, Natrona County, Sheridan, Thunder Basin.
3A State Boys Swimming-2025
3A State Boys Swimming-2025
Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino
4A Boys State Swimming & Diving Meet-2025
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Gallery Credit: Frank Gambino
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EXCLUSIVE: Mom speaks out after illegal alien DUI suspect allegedly kills 8-year-old, maims Marine dad
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EXCLUSIVE: A mother is speaking out after an illegal alien DUI suspect allegedly killed her 8-year-old daughter in a Thanksgiving weekend crash that also critically injured her U.S. Marine husband, Oscar, who had his leg amputated and remains in a fight for his life more than a month later.
Jackie Cruz Acencio, who is grieving the loss of her 8-year-old daughter, Arya Cruz Acencio, says the suspected illegal immigrant driver should not have been in the country in the first place.
“I care very deeply for these people that want to have a better life. I really do, but I have no sympathy for the driver that hit me and my family. I don’t. I’m angry, and he shouldn’t have been here in the first place,” Jackie told Fox News’ Matt Finn in an exclusive interview.
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Arya Cruz Acencio, 8, was killed in an accident allegedly involving an intoxicated illegal immigrant driver. Her father, a U.S. Marine named Oscar Cruz Acencio, had his leg amputated and is fighting for his life. (Courtesy)
The alleged driver, Bryan Josue Alva-Rodriguez, a 25-year-old Guatemalan citizen, was arraigned while being treated for injuries in the hospital. He is facing charges for murder, vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.
“Now an innocent life has been lost in a tragedy that could have been prevented,” the San Diego office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wrote on X.
Alva-Rodriguez illegally entered the United States on Feb. 8, 2018, and was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Calexico, Calif. He was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge and released, ICE said.
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An illegal migrant was charged with murder for his involvement in a fatal accident near San Diego, Calif. (Alvin Miller Abraham)
While in immigration proceedings, he was charged with two DUIs on Sept. 6, 2020, and April 7, 2021, according to the agency. On March 16, 2023, an immigration judge ordered him deported. However, Alva-Rodriguez failed to leave the U.S. as ordered, authorities said.
The Cruz Acencio family was on their way home from a Thanksgiving visit when the suspect, who was allegedly intoxicated, allegedly hit their vehicle. The suspect allegedly crossed a double yellow line and crashed into the family’s car head-on.
“We didn’t deserve it, and nobody does,” Jackie told Finn.
Her husband, Oscar, is still recovering not only from the leg amputation, but also a traumatic brain injury that he suffered during the crash. He is being treated at a Navy hospital in San Diego.
Jackie recalled that she saw her daughter wasn’t breathing when the crash happened, describing that it looked like the little girl was sleeping.
“At that moment, I wasn’t thinking like, ‘oh, she’s dead.’ I just kind of didn’t think about it,” she said. Reality hit Jackie when she was told that her daughter did not survive the crash. She said that she is sad and angry and is still processing the loss.
Arya Cruz Acencio, 8, was killed in a car accident over Thanksgiving weekend involving an illegal immigrant DUI suspect. (Courtesy)
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The tragic accident comes amid a nationwide debate about the issuing of commercial drivers licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrant truckers.
The Department of Transportation has clashed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom in recent months, claiming that the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs. The department claimed that several migrants held CDLs that expired after the end of their work permits. California has until Jan. 5 to revoke illegally issued licenses.
An illegal migrant was charged with murder for his involvement in a fatal accident near San Diego, Calif., that killed an 8-year-old girl and injured multiple people. (Alvin Miller Abraham)
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a post on X on Dec. 30 that the Jan. 5 deadline remained in place. He said that his department would act and possibly revoke nearly $160 million in federal funds if California misses the deadline.
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SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco Superior Court judge dismissed claims in a lawsuit against Proposition K, the ballot measure that permanently cleared traffic from the Great Highway to make way for a two-mile park.
One advocacy group, Friends of Sunset Dunes, said the legal action affirmed Proposition K’s legal standing and called the lawsuit against the park “wasteful.”
Proposition K passed with more than 54% of the vote in November 2024, but the debate didn’t end there. The Sunset District supervisor was recalled in the aftermath of that vote by residents in the district who argued their streets would be flooded by traffic and that the decision by voters citywide to close a major thoroughfare in their area was out of touch with the local community.
What they’re saying:
Friends of Sunset Dunes hailed the judge’s decision in the lawsuit, Boschetto vs the City and County of San Francisco, as a victory.
“After two ballot measures, two lawsuits, three failed appeals, and dozens of hours of public meetings and untold administrative time and cost, this ruling affirms Proposition K’s legal foundation, and affirms the city’s authority to move forward in creating a permanent coastal park to serve future generations of San Franciscans,” the group said in a statement.
The group added that their volunteers are working to bring the coastal park to life. Meanwhile, “anti-park zealots continue to waste more public resources in their attempt to overturn the will of the people and close Sunset Dunes.”
“Now that they’ve lost two lawsuits and two elections, we invite them to accept the will of San Franciscans and work with us to make the most of our collective coastal park,” said Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Sunset Dunes.
The supervisor for the Sunset District, Alan Wong, doubled down on what he had stated earlier. In a statement on Monday, Wong said he is “prepared to support a ballot initiative to reopen the Great Highway and restore the original compromise.” The compromise he’s referring to is vehicles allowed to drive along the highway on weekdays and a closure to traffic on the weekends.
Wong, in his statement, added that he’s talked to constituents in his district across the political spectrum and that his values align with the majority of district 4 residents and organizations.
When he was sworn in last month, Wong indicated he was open to revisiting the issue of reopening the Great Highway to traffic. He also said he voted against Proposition K, which cleared the way and made Sunset Dunes official.
Engardio’s two-cents
Last September, Joel Engardio was recalled as the Sunset District supervisor in a special election. The primary reason for his ouster was his support of Sunset Dunes, the park which also saw the support of other prominent politicians, including former Mayor London Breed, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and State Senator Scott Wiener.
Engardio on Monday issued his own statement after the judge dismissed all claims in the lawsuit against Prop. K.
“It’s time to consider Sunset Dunes settled. Too many people have seen how the park is good for the environment, local businesses, and the physical and mental health of every visitor,” Engardio said. “Future generations will see this as a silly controversy because the park’s benefits far outweigh the fears of traffic jams that never happened. The coast belongs to everyone and it won’t be long before a majority everywhere will embrace the wonderful and magical Sunset Dunes.”
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