Crystal Cave Reopens At Sequoia National Park

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, July 3, 2025…

• Sequoia National Park is known for its iconic trees – the giant sequoias. They tower hundreds of feet above the Sierra Nevada. But another draw to this park is hidden thousands of feet below. It’s called Crystal Cave, and it recently reopened to the public after a parade of natural disasters left it inaccessible for years.
• Recent immigration raids in Southern California have been unconstitutional. That’s according to a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles against the federal government. 
• Organizers of one of Northern California’s best-loved and longest-running music festivals are scrambling to save the July 4th weekend event, amid slow ticket sales.

Crystal Cave Reopens Beneath Sequoia National Park After Natural Disasters

The scars of record flooding and one of the biggest wildfires in Sequoia and Kings National Parks history remained on full display during a recent tour marking the reopening of an iconic landmark. Grove after grove of scorched up trees line the steep, half-mile hike down to the whimsical spiderweb gate that acts as the entrance to Crystal Cave.

Crystal Cave is over a million years old and stretches about three miles, he says. Only a small fraction of caves in the world are etched from marble. It’s open to the public for the first time in four years – since a parade of natural disasters left it inaccessible. These disasters washed out roads and burned up the cave’s bespoke solar power system. 2023’s series of atmospheric rivers wreaked havoc on the park’s infrastructure.

Sequoia National Park Superintendent Clay Jordan recently greeted visitors for the cave’s official reopening ceremony. “I’m proud of the accomplishments we’ve made in repairing much of the quarter billion dollars of damage between fires and floods, but we still have a ways to go,” he said.

Feds Sued Over ICE Raids

Recent immigration raids carried out by the Trump administration across Southern California have routinely violated detainees’ constitutional rights, according to the allegations in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday against the federal government.

The lawsuit was brought by five workers who’ve been detained and four community organizations that focus on immigrant and worker rights. They allege federal agents have racially profiled people, disregarding their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. They also say detainees have been held in “deplorable” conditions in a downtown federal building basement, where they aren’t getting their Fifth Amendment right to speak with an attorney.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security said federal immigration agents are not targeting people for arrest based on their skin color and are not holding detainees in substandard conditions. They said immigration actions in L.A. have been lawful and “highly targeted.”

Northern California Music Festival Struggles With Low Ticket Sales

The High Sierra Music Festival in the Plumas County town of Quincy has been a staple on Northern California’s music calendar since 1991. But organizers are scrambling this year amid slow ticket sales.

Festival producer Dave Margulies said he could count on selling 6,000 tickets before the pandemic. But this year, that number is closer to 2,000. “S​o that leaves us a long, long way away from sustainability. We’re a little nervous about the future going forward, and hoping that the community rallies and supports us,” he said.