The mysterious deaths of the Northern California family and their dog led federal officials to close a major section of the Merced River on Friday.
28 miles of the Merced River near Yosemite National Park were closed after test results collected downstream from where the family died showed high levels of toxic algae.
Algae blooms, which have become a pervasive problem during the California drought, can make people and pets extremely sick, the Bureau of Land Management said.
John Garrish, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter Miju and their dog, Oski, were found dead in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Hites Cove trailhead on August 16.
Investigators have ruled out use of weapons and exposure to chemicals from a mine as the cause of death, and have not determined if toxic algae contributed to the family’s death.
The closure of Merced River comes shortly after the Sierra National Forest announced that they were shutting off access to multiple hiking trails and sites on Aug. 31 due to "unknown hazards."
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