chicagotribune.com - Travel: Fire shuts Carlsbad Caverns National Park

chicagotribune.com - Travel Headlines from chicagotribune.com Fire shuts Carlsbad Caverns National Park 15 Jun 2011, 6:44 pm Visitors touring Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, which was shut this week by fires. (Vani Rangachar / Los Angeles Times / June 15, 2011) By Benoit Lebourgeois Special to the Los Angeles Times 12:44 p.m. CDT, June 15, 2011 A brush and grass fire burning in steep, rugged terrain has forced the closure of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeastern New Mexico. Park Supt. John Benjamin said he was optimistic that the park would reopen Thursday morning. Visitors with reservations for ranger-guided tours (Hall of the White Giant, Kings Palace, Left Hand Tunnel, Lower Cave, Slaughter Canyon Cave and Spider Cave) that were scheduled during the closure can request refunds. They should contact Recreation.gov, the booking agent, or call the agent at (888) 448-1474, a customer service representative said. As of Tuesday evening, the so-called Loop Fire had consumed 25,000 acres and was 25% contained. For a time, the fire closed U.S. Highway 62-180 and other local roads. A temporary evacuation order for White's City, the gateway community to the national park, was issued. For updates on road status, check the website of the New Mexico Department of Transportation. For fire updates, check the New Mexico Fire Information website.           Chat about this story w/ Talkita You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed.