THAT’S TOO MUCH

California Town Shuts Off Access to Wildflower ‘Super Bloom’ After ‘Unbearable’ Weekend of Tourists

The bright orange poppies attracted “Disneyland-size” crowds.

Officials in southern California have closed off access to a “super bloom” of vibrant orange poppies after tourists flooded the small city of Lake Elsinore and created “unbearable” conditions, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday. The poppy-studded hillsides reportedly drew “Disneyland-size” crowds to the area, and many of the tourists ignored signs to stay on viewing trails, sometimes plopping down onto the flowers themselves. The city initially tried to discourage tourists from coming on Saturday, writing on Facebook that “our small City can not sustain crowds of this magnitude”—but when that failed, the city shut down access to the Canyon and canceled shuttle services. “The situation has escalated beyond our available resources,” the city wrote on its Facebook page. “This weekend has been unbearable.”