Flock Cameras, a Land Deal, and Wildfire Season: Yosemite in the Headlines

Yosemite has had an eventful few weeks in the news — a privacy debate over surveillance cameras, a controversial land deal, and an active wildfire nearby. Here’s what’s actually going on.

The Flock Camera Debate

A crowdsourced surveillance-tracking site called DeFlock recently flagged what it identified as Flock Safety cameras — a brand of AI-powered license plate readers at the center of a national privacy debate — inside Yosemite’s boundaries. Park officials pushed back, stating that Yosemite does not use Flock cameras or software specifically. What the park does confirm: it operates its own license-plate-reading camera system, in place since 2024, intended to reduce wait times and manage traffic congestion at entrance stations. The National Park Service says this system isn’t connected to law enforcement or DMV databases, though some current and former rangers have voiced concerns to reporters about surveillance creep in national parks more broadly.

A Yosemite Land Exchange Draws Pushback

Since spring 2025, the Trump administration’s Interior Department has reportedly been working on a land exchange that would transfer a small strip of Yosemite — roughly a quarter mile — to Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a private developer. In exchange, the company would provide the park with land of equal value elsewhere in California. The developer says the deal would let it build an access road connecting its adjacent 83-acre property to the park’s entrance for a planned development. Conservation groups, including the National Parks Conservation Association, have strongly criticized the proposal as an unprecedented step for a National Park to give up land rather than gain it. The Interior Department says no final decision has been made and that any deal would go through standard environmental review and public comment.

Wildfire Season Near the Park

Yosemite implemented fire restrictions in early August due to hot, dry conditions, and saw several small lightning-caused fires within the park that month, all contained without evacuations. More recently, the Colorado Fire broke out just outside the park’s western boundary in Mariposa County, prompting evacuations and a closure of part of Highway 140, one of Yosemite’s main entry routes. As of the most recent reports, the park itself remained open and was not directly threatened by the fire.

More Around the Campfire

• The Hidden Art Scene Inside America’s National Parks
• KOA vs. Boutique Glamping: Which Is Right for Your Trip?
• Campsite Spotlight: Campspot, the Booking Platform Behind Thousands of Campgrounds