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+--- Thread: More rain? (/showthread.php?tid=26249)
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RE: More rain? - TacoLand - 2023-09-03
Last year at BM was wildly unpleasant with high temperatures and dust storms, both of which are not uncommon at BM ... but last year was on the intense end of the spectrum for both.
Wondering if climate change / weirding will force the hand of places like DVNP to scale back maintained access roads that aren't highways. What a colossal frustration and pissing away of money if you've got to rebuild the same roads 2-3 times a year (realizing this year, and five-year windows, are just that and not necessarily the new norm).
RE: More rain? - DVexile - 2023-09-03
Looking at the weather radar archive the past few days it doesn't look like DV was very impacted by the recent storms. There was some precipitation over the southern part of the valley, but nothing as intense or as long as what hit the 127 north of Baker or the 160 south of Pahrump. There was also some precipitation over the Panamints, but again nothing severe.
I think the larger issue is things like 127 being taken out again are probably going to take up resources that might have worked on the 190 instead.
Anyway, seems like a long road (pun intended) ahead! Hoping the NPS might report their assessment whenever it is complete.
RE: More rain? - netllama - 2023-09-03
I've heard a rumor that all park hourly employees have been furloughed indefinitely, and told to register for unemployment. If true, not a good sign.
RE: More rain? - MojaveGeek - 2023-09-04
(2023-09-03, 08:43 PM)netllama Wrote: I've heard a rumor that all park hourly employees have been furloughed indefinitely, and told to register for unemployment. If true, not a good sign.
No, that would not bode well for a fall season in the valley. Or winter! Well I doubt we'll see the real news on the national park official page for a while, much more likely that someone here will have an ear to the ground first.
RE: More rain? - trailhound - 2023-09-04
Death Valley is this morning's (Sept 4) headline in the LA Times. Nothing really new, but there is this assessment of how bad the damage is:
Quote:Among the damaged areas is a 1,500-foot stretch of roadway near Towne Pass that “washed away,” said Christopher Andriessen, a spokesman with the California Department of Transportation, District 9.
East of Towne Pass, a 40-foot-wide Arizona crossing — a type of culvert — is gone, as are multiple swaths of pavement between Death Valley Junction and Olancha, Andriessen said, including some as long as 300 feet. As a result, hotels and campgrounds are closed for the foreseeable future.
The estimated cost of repairs is so far about $6 million, but that includes only State Route 190 and a small part of State Route 136, Andriessen said. Only about 900 of the park’s nearly 1,400 miles of roadways have so far been assessed.
RE: More rain? - MojaveGeek - 2023-09-04
"Parts of the park may reopen before early December". I don't know how reliable this source is.
https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2023/09/reopening-death-valley-national-park-will-take-time
RE: More rain? - Beardilocks - 2023-09-04
The end of the LATimes article said that Caltrans crews "are aiming to reopen State Route 190 in about three months."
I would say 3mo to open 190 would furlough workers for sure. It would also bode poorly for the opening of any of the back country roads before maybe Fall 2024? Just speculation, but basing it on the last storm and the timeline to reopen the rest of the roads from that much less widespread storm. We can only hope that they don't just back-burner whole sections fo the park for years and years. Like how the road to Scotty's Castle has been closed for ... almost 9yrs now. And for anyone that was worried, the Castle apparently took no damage in this storm.
Official word on anything beyond 190:
"Other roads, including the one that runs from Furnace Creek to Badwater Basin, the park’s lowest point, are federally managed and also in need of repairs. There is no current estimate for its reopening." Damage is estimated at $6mil to open 190 and a small part of 136.So just the state roads I guess.
They are saying that, with 2.2" falling at Furnace, they estimate that 5-10" fell on Telescope Peak. I can only imagine the torrent in Hanuapah Canyon...