Hello again my friends!
2020 is back at it. We are closed again, this time due to a closure by the Sequoia National Forest for extraordinary fire risk.
Today at about 1 pm, we received notice that the closure would take place at 5 pm. We were operating our private tours, and watching the smoke and ash roll in. We notified our guests on site, and began the process of closing down the cavern and gift shop. While officials are hoping this is a short term closure order, we don’t know for certain, so we had to close up as though the season might be over.
Since our family (that’s me, Maria, my husband, Daniel, and our toddler, Calvin) lives near the cavern during the season, this also meant we had to quickly get our 5th wheel travel trailer ready to be towed out of the area. It is nice to have your home on wheels in these situations! But packing things with a toddler can definitely be tough.
Luckily we have an amazing staff, and with their help we were able to get everything closed, signs posted, stuff packed, and we were all on our way out by 4 pm. By this time the smoke and ash were so heavy, it really added a layer of anxiety to the whole situation. There is no current active fire in the area of Boyden Cavern.
This closure is huge, and impacts 8 National Forests in Central and Southern California. The information we were given is that there is just an extraordinary risk of fire at this time. The closure will help prevent potential man-caused fires, as well as making access easier for firefighting personnel. And if more fires start, or current fires continue to spread quickly, closing the areas well in advance means that visitors, residents, and employees are already out of the area and won’t have to emergency evacuate.
If you want to read more about the closure, check out the Sequoia National Forest website:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sequoia/alerts-notices
Here is our strategy for refunds and cancellations
For all tours between 9/7/2020 and 9/15/2020 - Your tickets have already been cancelled and a full refund has been issued.
For all tours from 9/16/2020 until our planned season ending 10/31/2020 -
We will be emailing you all on a rolling basis, about 10-14 days prior to your reservation. We will inform you of the situation and give you the option of store credit or a full refund. If we don’t receive a response we will cancel and refund your tickets 5-7 days prior to your scheduled tour.
Once the area is able to be reopened, we would like to offer our private tours again until our season end 10/31/2020.
If you choose store credit: There is no expiration! If you end up booking for less guests than your original booking and have leftover store credit, we will happily refund you any difference. Store credit is helpful for us because we would love to have you reschedule your tour, and we are able to use the funds for our operating costs that continue even when we are not open.
We have had some wonderful returning guests already reaching out and asking how they can help. We really appreciate you! If you would like to help our small family business, please purchase a gift card! Gift cards can be used for tour tickets, or merchandise or snacks in store. Gift cards never expire. You can purchase one by clicking the Book Now link above.
If you have any questions, please email us at info@boydencavern.com
Thank you to all who have visited in the short 2020 season we have had so far. We hope to have you in the cave again soon!