It’s almost Memorial Day. Here’s what you can (and can’t) do over the holiday weekend
Heading into Memorial Day weekend, Sacramento County remains under the second-strictest state restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 as residents get vaccinated to protect themselves from the respiratory disease that has led to nearly 62,000 deaths in California over the past year.
And California is about three weeks away from fully reopening businesses and public activities, dropping most COVID-19 restrictions. Some will remain when California fully reopens its economy, including rules for events with 5,000 to 10,000 attendees.
Until then, Sacramento-area residents will have to celebrate Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer with some restrictions. Here’s what you can and can’t do this holiday weekend.
Sacramento County
Sacramento County is among eight California counties still in the red tier with tighter capacity limits than the orange and yellow tiers. Under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, family entertainment centers in red-tier counties can open only with modifications if they’re outdoors.
Restaurant dining can open indoors with 25% maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. Retail stores can open with 50% maximum capacity. Shopping malls and swap meets also can open with the same capacity limits, but they must close all common areas and reduce capacity in food courts.
Campgrounds, skate parks, hotels and swimming pools can open with modifications in the red tier. Drowning prevention classes, including swim lessons with certified instructors, are permitted indoors and outdoors.
Outdoor water parks with can open with a 15% maximum capacity, but without indoor dining and only with groups of 10 people or three household groups. Walk-up ticket sales are allowed, but visitors must give name and phone number for contact tracing. Indoor water parks, rides and pools remain closed.
Raging Waters Sacramento, one of two of the biggest water parks in the capital region, announced it will start its 2021 season June 12. The park at Cal Expo canceled last summer’s season entirely due to state and local health restrictions.
The California Department of Public Health in late April shared formal guidelines for water parks: “Use of face coverings is mandatory throughout the park in all settings indoor and outdoor, unless actively eating and/or drinking, or while on a ride or in a setting that would cause the face covering to become wet. Guests without a face covering must remain 6 feet from people who are not in the same household.”
The sate health agency advised that water park staff and guests not to wear face coverings in the water: “A wet cloth mask can make it difficult to breathe and likely will not work correctly.”
Placer County
Golfland Sunplash in Roseville, the other large water park in the Sacramento region, has announced its water slides will open for Memorial Day weekend from Friday through Monday. Then, the water slides will be open every day June 3 to Sept. 6.
The family entertainment center in Placer County opened its water slides part of last summer despite state health orders, but ended its 2020 season in August after Roseville city officials asked it to close, the park wrote in a social media post last year.
This week, Placer County was one four California counties that advanced to the orange tier, the second-loosest COVID-19 risk levels, which further loosened business and activity restrictions. The county’s test positivity rate is 2%, the lowest it’s been in over a month.
Family entertainment centers and indoor playgrounds can open to 25% capacity or a maximum of 50% capacity if all guests test negative or show proof of vaccination, too. As of Tuesday, nearly half the adult population was fully vaccinated.
Many indoor spaces in Placer County now are allowed to reopen at greater capacity ahead of the June 15 state reopening. That means restaurants, theaters and churches can now open at 50% indoor capacity, according to the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Bars, breweries and distilleries in Placer County that don’t serve meals can open indoors and outdoors at 25% capacity, after being closed for indoor service for much of the pandemic. Concert venues, fitness centers and gyms can increase indoor capacity to 35% or more with proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.
El Dorado, Yolo and Sutter counties are also in the less restrictive orange tier and under the same COVID-19 restrictions as Placer.
Sacramento-area rivers
Public safety officials this week warned swimmers and boaters heading to rivers and other waterways in the Sacramento area that the water is still running is still cold and fast even as California’s drought conditions.
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout and a declining number of infections in California could mean large crowds flock to areas such as Tiscornia Beach, where the Sacramento and American rivers meet, to celebrate on Memorial Day weekend after more than a year of coronavirus restrictions.
Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Keith Wade said they want people to celebrate safely along the water by properly wearing a life jacket. The Fire Department has a free life jacket rental program. Those who need one can pick it up at a fire station or where they’re being offered at a popular beach.
Wade said parents with small children must keep them within an arm’s reach so they can grab them if they get into trouble. He said jumping in cold water can quickly lead to hypothermia, preventing the brain and muscles from functioning properly making really difficult to get out of trouble.
Sacramento County officials are reminding everyone that all fireworks are prohibited in the county’s regional parks, smoking is only allowed in developed picnic areas, asphalt surfaces, golf courses and on levee tops along the American River Parkway. Also, open flame fires are not allowed.
From Saturday through Memorial Day, alcohol possession is prohibited on the shore and in the water of the American River within the county regional parks’ jurisdiction. The prohibition includes open or closed alcoholic beverages.
CHP looking for speeders and intoxicated drivers
The California Highway Patrol begins its maximum enforcement period for Memorial Day weekend at 6 p.m. Friday. The holiday weekend marks the traditional start to the summer travel season, and all available CHP officers throughout the state will be on the road enforcing traffic laws, watching carefully for distracted drivers and those impaired by drugs or alcohol.
“Seat belts save lives every day, yet some people still don’t buckle up,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said in a news release. “Start the holiday weekend off right by making sure you and your passengers are properly restrained.”
About 78 percent of people killed in a CHP-investigated crash during Memorial Day weekend last year were not wearing a seat belt, according to the news release. CHP officials said at least 31 people statewide died in a crash, and CHP officers arrested 854 people on suspicion of driving under the influence during last year’s 78-hour traffic enforcement period.
The CHP reminds drivers state law requires that, whenever possible, children younger than 8 years old ride in the back seat and that a child younger than 2 is always secured in a rear-facing child safety seat.
California wildfire threat
Cal Fire officials this week urged anyone planning on camping out this Memorial Day weekend to make sure campfires are allowed before starting a fire and be sure to get a permit if required. An adult should be in attendance of a campfire at all times and campers should keep an eye on the fire until it is completely extinguished, according to Cal Fire’s campfire safety guidance.
This year, California has already had more wildfires and acres burned compared to this time last year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced May 19. From Jan. 1 through May 18, 2020, 2,617 acres in California burned in 1,554 fires, according to Cal Fire. In that same time period this year, 14,717 acres have burned in 2,436 fires.
The threat of wildfire has only been exacerbated this year as California has had some of the worst drought conditions as the state continues to experience one of the driest years on record.
The National Weather Services forecast shows a warming trend to continue with valley temperatures in the 90s to around 100 degrees by Sunday. There’s also a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada in the Lake Tahoe area, mainly on Saturday afternoon.
On Monday into Tuesday, there will be moderate to high heat risk in the valley and foothills, according to the weather service. The highs will range from the upper 90s to above 100 degrees in the valley.
National parks and traffic
Visitors at some national parks this summer might encounter long lines, no parking and overcrowded attractions this summer. The National Park Service has said it’s expecting one of the busiest summer seasons on record this year after the coronavirus pandemic halted many vacation plans in 2020.
Online reservations are now needed for almost all visitors to enter Yosemite National Park. The new system went into effect last week and will remain in place at least through Sept. 30. The $2 Yosemite day-use entry passes, needed in addition to normal park entrance fees, must be purchased online via recreation.gov.
Yosemite officials said people can drive through the park to reach a destination on the other side without a reservation, but normal park entrance fees still apply.
More than 67,500 people visited Yosemite in April, which was over 20,000 more than the same month in 2019.
This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
