Visitors Enjoy Mother Lode Beauty

Thousands of visitors will begin arriving in the Mother Lode today as they kick-off the long Memorial Day weekend.

Both Tuolumne and Calaveras county visitors bureaus say motel rooms are filling fast.

Greeting guests to the region is the natural beauty of the rolling foothills, Yosemite National Park, and the cool, upper elevation forest areas, such as Arnold, Bear Valley, Pinecrest and the Sonora Pass.

Mother Lode fire officials remain optimistic that the fire danger for this coming long holiday weekend will remain lower than first expected. CDF battalion Chief Richard Imlach cautions the potential for fire is still out there. He urges visitors and residents alike to use caution with any outdoor fires. “It´s getting drier every day.”

Forest and foothill-area camp sites are expected to be very busy this weekend.