It's "Super Bloom madness" in Lake Elsinore.
Lake Elsinore police chief Michael Lujan said Thursday that weekend visitors will no longer be allowed to park on streets by a popular trail leading through patches of orange poppies.
Rather, they will be sent to parking areas to buy tickets to board a shuttle to Walker Canyon.
The city about a 90-minute drive from Los Angeles was swamped last weekend with about 150,000 people craving to see the super bloom spawned by heavy winter rains.
Officials shut access to the area Sunday as traffic was jammed and people fainted in the heat.
Authorities also asked travelers not to park on the freeway to look at the flowers.
Authorities say as crowds flocked to #LakeElsinore for the #SuperBloom last weekend, one person got bitten by a snake. And a city worker was struck by a frustrated driver in a hit-and-run incident. @KNX1070 pic.twitter.com/ohEhiGG8lV
— Jon Baird (@KNXBaird)
March 21, 2019 City, county and state officials got together Thursday to come up with strategies for dealing with the crowds around Walker Canyon.
Officials hold a news conference over the #SuperBloom in #LakeElsinore. They say they haven’t had a wildflower bloom like this one, in years. They warn travelers that they could experience big delays from large crowds this weekend. @KNX1070 pic.twitter.com/7zZLrqqOvb
— Jon Baird (@KNXBaird)
March 21, 2019 Last weekend, tens of thousands of sightseers poured into the area, bringing traffic to a virtual standstill on the 15 for hours.
#SuperBloom Update: Today, the City will host a press conference with our partner agencies to share plans to address challenges related to the thousands of visitors flocking to the City. This is a MEDIA ONLY event. It will be broadcast live on all City social media accounts. pic.twitter.com/nsJ5LGkHCT
— City Lake Elsinore (@CtyLakeElsinore)
March 21, 2019 The traffic also kept some people in Temescal Valley from getting in or out of their homes and businesses.
Earlier this week, the city of Lake Elsinore announced Walker Canyon parking was full due to severe congestion. California Highway Patrol had closed the Lake Street ramps in both directions for a few hours.
After closing down Walker Canyon due to congestion from people and cars, then reopening it with limited parking, Walker Canyon parking was full Monday afternoon, according to social media reports earlier this week from Lake Elsinore on Facebook.
#SuperBloom Apopplypse UPDATE: Do to severe congestion, California Highway Patrol has closed #LakeSt ramps, which are expected to reopen after 8p.m.--For real-time traffic updates and… https://t.co/xoVGl0Xxmu
— City Lake Elsinore (@CtyLakeElsinore)
March 19, 2019 The city said on its Facebook page that "While Walker Canyon Trail has been reopened, all parking options have been exhausted."
-KNX 1070 and AP
