YOSEMITE VALLEY, CA. (THECOUNT) — Danielle Burnett, of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, has been identified as the victim killed in a fall while visiting Yosemite National Park in California, according to National Park officials Friday.
Burnett, 29, died Thursday while visiting Yosemite in an apparent fall of at least 500 feet from the Half Dome cables on Friday.
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“She fell over 500 feet down steep, rocky terrain, and was deceased when Park Rangers arrived on the scene,” according to a statement from the park.
Yosemite National Park began limiting the number of hikers on Half Dome with a permitting system introduced in 2010 with the intention of improving safety. The process was implemented after four people died in four years. reports SFgate.
The 14.2-mile round-trip trek to the top of Half Dome includes a precarious section near the summit with cable handrails. This stretch is notoriously tricky, especially with wet weather, and hikers can fall and get stuck here, leading to accidents and rescues.
The permits distributed through a lottery system provide access to the cables, which are usually in place from about Memorial Day to mid-October.
Nearly 1,200 visitors per day made it to the cables section of Half Dome up until 2008, according to the Sierra Club. Now permits are capped at 300 per day.
Friends and family members took to Facebook to remember the beloved woman:
“It’s with a broken heart to inform you all that our beautiful Danielle left us yesterday doing something she loved so much. We ask that you please give the family time and privacy to grieve. Out of respect for her Mother and Father please do not send any flowers or call. This will take time. Thank you for understanding – Danielle Burnett”
Burnett’s final Facebook post was in April and mentioned a “fall.”
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Geo quick facts: Yosemite Valley is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California, United States. It consists of Yosemite Village and the other areas of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, up from 265 at the 2000 census – Wikipedia.