🦇 California Caving & Spelunking BriefMonday, September 14, 2026

The biggest issues for California cavers this week are continued wildfire closures in Big Sur and the Eastern Sierra, very high fire danger around Pinnacles, ongoing bat-protection closures, and white-nose syndrome biosecurity. I did not find a new California statewide spelunking law or a new federal cave statute taking effect this week; the consequential changes are primarily agency closures, access rules, and hazard restrictions.

Lava Beds National Monument: cave closures unchanged, but access conditions improved

Lava Beds currently lists Balcony, Blue Grotto, Natural Bridge, Ovis Cave, Paradise Alleys, and Thunderbolt Cave as closed. All park roads are open.

A recent confirmed policy change remains important: effective September 2, 2026, the park lifted its temporary monument-wide fire restriction. Wood fires are again permitted only in designated metal fire rings at Indian Well Campground; open fires remain prohibited in caves, wilderness, and backcountry areas under standing park rules.

Lava Beds also continues to instruct visitors not to bring boots, clothing, or equipment previously used in caves, mines, or other bat roosts unless appropriate white-nose-syndrome precautions are followed.

Practical impact: Lava Beds remains usable for grotto trips, but verify the specific tube before traveling and keep “clean gear” separate from equipment used in other caves or mines.

Lava Beds current closures and conditions

Pinnacles: Lower Bear Gulch and Balconies open; Upper Bear Gulch closed

Current NPS status:

Lower Bear Gulch Cave — OPENUpper Bear Gulch Cave — CLOSEDBalconies Cave — OPEN

The Upper Cave closure protects Townsend’s big-eared bats. NPS can additionally close either cave because of flooding, high water, rockfall, vandalism, or other unsafe conditions.

The park currently rates its fire danger VERY HIGH, with wood fires and charcoal grills prohibited, no smoking on trails, and no roadside parking.

Practical impact: Cave access is currently reasonable, but this is not a good time to improvise remote roadside approaches or activities that create sparks.

Pinnacles current cave status

Crystal Cave: 2026 season is now over

One significant change from last week: guided tours at Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park have ended for the 2026 season. NPS says tours are expected to resume in late spring 2027.

NPS also continues its WNS precaution: people who have visited caves elsewhere should not reuse potentially contaminated clothing or equipment at Crystal Cave.

Practical impact: Remove Crystal Cave from fall 2026 trip planning.

White-nose syndrome: no new rule, but California biosecurity remains important

CDFW continues to report that the fungus associated with white-nose syndrome has been detected in California. While the agency says there is not yet evidence that WNS itself has become established broadly in California bat populations, humans can transport fungal spores on cave and mine equipment.

CDFW strongly urges people entering caves, mines, and bat roosts to decontaminate clothing and equipment immediately afterward, avoid unnecessary disturbance of bat roosts, and keep pets out of caves.

Practical impact: For CA Gold Diggers members who explore old mines as well as caves, treat both as part of the same contamination chain. Don't move dirty boots, ropes, helmets, packs, or tools from an adit directly into another cave.

CDFW white-nose syndrome guidance

🔥 Big Sur / Los Padres: Plaskett Fire remains an active closure problem

The Plaskett Fire remains the most consequential active wildfire for California backcountry cave and grotto access.

CAL FIRE's latest posted information lists the fire at roughly 29,942 acres. Fire crews continue patrol, mop-up, and containment work in steep terrain. Evacuation orders and warnings remain in portions of the incident area.

Most importantly for trip planning, Highway 1 remains closed between approximately Kirk Creek Campground at mile marker 19 and Los Burros Road around mile marker 11.1.

Practical impact: Continue treating the affected southern Big Sur backcountry as a NO-GO zone wherever closures or evacuation orders are active. Even an unaffected cave can become inaccessible because of highway closure, smoke, emergency traffic, falling trees, or changing evacuation routes.

CAL FIRE Plaskett Fire incident page

🔥 Eastern Sierra: wildfire-damaged BLM lands remain closed

BLM's Bishop Field Office continues a temporary closure around areas affected by the Rock Fire and Cinder Complex near Aberdeen because of wildfire damage and fire-suppression impacts. The closure remains until officials determine the lands are safe.

This is exactly the type of post-fire area grotto groups should avoid even after flames are gone. Hazards may include destabilized slopes, falling rock, damaged roads, weakened trees, and altered drainage.

BLM seasonal restrictions also remain active across the Eastern Sierra, including Inyo and Mono counties, limiting campfires, off-road motorized activity, smoking, welding, and target shooting.

🔥 Mother Lode and other BLM lands: restrictions still active

BLM's current California fire page shows restrictions continuing across numerous field offices. Mother Lode restrictions affect public lands in Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties.

Southern California Desert District restrictions remain scheduled through October 29, 2026, unless lifted earlier.

For grotto trips, this matters especially when cave approaches involve dispersed camping, dirt-road access, ATVs, or remote trailheads.

🚩 Northern California fire weather today

The National Weather Service has a Red Flag Warning in effect through 5 p.m. Monday, September 14, for portions of the Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills because of gusty winds and low humidity.

That includes country used by prospectors, rockhounds, and underground explorers heading into Sierra foothill areas.

Practical impact: A cave itself may be perfectly safe while the surface evacuation route becomes dangerous. For remote underground trips today, check both the trailhead and escape-route fire conditions before entering.

🌧️ Flash floods and post-fire terrain

I did not find a major statewide flash-flood emergency affecting California cave areas this morning. That is an advisory finding, not a guarantee of safe cave conditions.

Pinnacles' standing rules specifically allow cave closure during high-water events because flooding inside talus caves presents an extreme hazard.

For newly burned areas such as Big Sur and parts of the Eastern Sierra, future rain deserves extra attention. Burned slopes can generate much faster runoff, rockfall, debris flows, and road failures than unburned terrain.