They isolate by "unknown dangers" the area of ​​California where a couple, their baby and their dog died mysteriously

By Elisha Fieldstadt - NBC News

Several trails and resting places in the Sierra National Forest, in California, have been closed after a couple, their baby and their dog were found dead there in August, without

the mysterious causes of the event

having been clarified so far

.

A regional order that went into effect Tuesday lists more than a dozen picnic spots, trails and a highway that

will be closed to the public until at least Sept. 26

due to "unknown hazards found on and near the Savage Lundy Trail."

The bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Muji, and their dog were found on August 17 near that trail, in a remote area known as Devil's Gulch, between the south of the Merced River and the beginning of the Hite Cove trail.

[The mysterious death of a couple, their baby and their dog in a California forest has a suspect]

A Mariposa County sheriff patrols a remote area northeast of the city of Mariposa, California, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, near the area where a family was found dead.

The Mariposa County hiking couple was reported missing by a friend a day before authorities found them dead.

The area where they were found, known above all for the spectacular spring display of wildflowers, has no telephone coverage.

Investigators

initially assessed whether toxic algal blooms or other hazards may have caused the deaths

, and so the area where the family was found was temporarily treated as a hazardous materials site.

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Aug. 31, 202100: 24

Since then, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the deaths with the California Department of Justice,

has ruled out that an armed attack or chemicals

on the Savage Lundy Trail contributed to the family's death, according to the local newspaper The Sacramento Bee.

"All other potential causes of death remain," they said.

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On Tuesday, the Forest Service announced that

all California forests will be closed until September 17

due to hazards caused by growing wildfires across the state.