Bear Spray Shuts Down Yosemite Hotel

Fire department, hazmat teams called in after Wawona Hotel guests report mysterious irritant

Bear spray isn't just great for fending off charging grizzlies; it's also fantastic for clearing out all the noisy neighbors in your hotel. Around noon on August 18, guests at the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite filed a report complaining of an unidentified odor spilling from a second-story room. By the time rangers and firemen arrived, they treated 12 people for respiratory difficulties, throat irritation, and nausea. Two people even threw up.

While decontaminating victims, rangers and firefighters still couldn't identify the source of the irritant, so they called in a Class A hazmat team from Mariposa County. Armed with full masks and gas detectors, they couldn't identify any type of health hazard, either. After fully investigating the grounds, they reopened the hotel to guests at 7:30 p.m. without ever figuring out the problem.

Later that evening, rangers discovered the irritant was bear spray. No details have emerged as to why someone discharged bear spray in their second-story room at the Wawona, but you see jumpy front-country tourists all over bear-country national parks wielding bear spray. The investigation continues.

I'm willing to bet money some jumpy lady from Cleveland saw her own shadow, freaked out that it was a famous Yosemite genius bear breaking into her hotel room for Chex Mix, and just pumped her whole room full of Counter Assault. Then, she masqueraded as one of the victims. A foolproof plan...

—Ted Alvarez

Wawona Hotel evacuated in hazmat incident (NPS Morning Report)

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READERS COMMENTS

Weapons carried by the public are still prohibited in Yosemite, although that might change with the new law regarding concealed firearms. That means no assembled firearms (they can be broken down), offensive knives, slingshots, paintball guns, or pepper sprays. This is supposed to go for all national parks unless the superintendent has declared an exception. Bear spray is specifically allowed in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, etc by order of the park superintendent. I think in some Alaska NPs one can even carry a shotgun.

Personally I wish I had a paintball gun (like the rangers had) to haze a campground bear that was snacking on the contents of a malfunctioning bear box last month. It simply didn't respond to my attempts to haze it with noise. Someone later suggested that hitting the bear box with rocks would have been effective since the noise would be ear splitting to the bear.
Posted: Aug 27, 2009 y_p_w

Isn't bear spray prohibited in Yosemite?
Posted: Aug 26, 2009 hugh

just having come from ten days in yosemite.... these people need to realize that those black bears are more afraid of people than we are of them. dont chase one that may happen to be out and about for his picture and stay away from the mothers with their young, and you are fine. people are retarded.
Posted: Aug 24, 2009 amber