THOUSANDS OF FLOWERS INFLUENCE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ELSINORE LAKE CLOSED

With the rains this winter, the desert hills near Lake Elsinore in southern California were invaded by thousands of wild flowers. This spectacular phenomenon attracted a crowd of visitors wanting to take the most beautiful photos of this spring landscape.

Spring is here in California. In fact, over the past few weeks, you can observe thousands of wild flowers that have bloomed in different places in the south of the state of California. Generally arid, these landscapes are covered with different flowers: poppies, yellow flowers, poppies and other wild flowers. It is a fairly well-known phenomenon in English, called “super bloom”. This natural phenomenon attracted thousands of onlookers who came to enjoy the show and take the most beautiful Instagram photos.

The western city of Riverside County, which has a population of almost 66,000, has seen thousands of visitors flocking to see the Super Bloom. All of this was not without consequence for the local population of the Anza-Borrego desert (California’s largest national park).

Like the nascent lake in the middle of the Death Valley desert, this phenomenon of super flowering was caused by the unusual rains this winter. The past few months have been particularly rainy, and downpours have fallen on arid soils, which have become saturated with water. The temperate winter has kept this humidity, conducive to the blooming of its flowers.

IMPACTS ON THE LOCAL POPULATION

This is not a new phenomenon, as it usually occurs once every ten years in normal times. However, it also happened in 2017, creating many concerns for the local population. In March 2017, a massive influx of no less than 200,000 curious people gathered around Borrego Springs, a small town not far from Anza-Borrego. It had indeed been invaded by thousands of tourists, creating local problems such as a shortage of gas, food and water.

This year, the “flowergeddon”, as the locals call it, has raged again. Thousands of tourists flocked, causing traffic jams around the site. The local authorities had all the same foreseen this influx, but the uncivil behaviors multiplied. Indeed, unscrupulous visitors have started to climb the steep slopes of the hills where the flowers have found refuge. The place was not made for hiking, some visitors slipped, fell, and others were injured. The authorities also denounced the behavior of visitors who disrespected the fragility of the landscapes. Some parked their cars illegally, as close as possible to the park.

THE CLOSURE OF THE PARK

Shuttles have been set up to reduce traffic congestion. The police decided to close the roads to cars in order to allow only the shuttles to pass. However, the influx was too large, with wait times of 45 minutes to an hour.

To reduce the risk of accidents and traffic jams, the authorities have therefore decided to close the Lake Elsinore site.