Progress Slowly Being Made Clearing Roads and Trai
Incident: Storm07 - Wa - Olf - 0002 Flood
Released: 12/14/2007
Olympia, Wash., -- Forest Service crews and contractors have been digging out roads and trails throughout the Olympic National Forest for nearly 11 days since Storm 07 hit the Olympic Peninsula on Sunday, December 2 and for every mile they clear, they find several more miles of landslides, washed-out roads and culverts, and trees laying like pick-up sticks over forest system roads.
According to Charles McDonnell, Engineering Technician at the Quinault Office of the Olympic National Forest's Pacific Ranger District, his crews have made significant progress opening and repairing major roads in the Pacific Ranger District, particularly those that provide access to homes and businesses. But, McDonnell said it has been slow. So far, McDonnell and his crews have opened or partially opened nearly 20 roads by cutting through the blow-down and clearing away slide debris.
Nearly 20 roads have been open or partially opened in the Hood Canal Ranger District, where road crews face having to remove a 7 foot-thick, 70 foot-wide land slide at the Bear Gulch Campground, and other landslides in the area. Storm patrols working near Quilcene, Wash., continue to find roads and trails that have been washed away or covered by debris.
McDonnell said the public should be very careful driving through the national forest because there are still many trees leaning over roads, and tree debris such as small branches lying on road surfaces. Many forest system roads are limited to one lane.
According to McDonnell, crews are using heavy equipment, such as backhoes and excavators, to remove trees and clear away debris from roads.
"We have opened the 3040 Road to the junction of Forest Road 3068 to provide Clallam County Public Utility District with access to power lines," McDonell said. "We also opened the Matheny Creek Road 2160 for Kayakers and several other roads for active timber sale access," he said.
McDonnell said his crews worked for 2 days to open 5 miles of Forest Road 2259 only to find the road washed out. "That discovery was pretty disappointing," McDonnell said.
All national forest trails on the south end of the Olympic National Forest (Quinault area) have been found to be impassable, according to Molly Erickson, recreation program manager for the Pacific Ranger District. "The public may access the Quinault Rain Forest via the Olympic National Park's Maple Glade Interpretive Trail which is open on the North Shore Road," Erickson said.
"On the North end of the Pacific Ranger District, the Bogachiel Rain Forest Trail is almost completely covered with blow-down for the first half mile and along some other sections. The Pioneer Path Interpretive Trail with wheelchair access from Klahowya Campground is totally blocked, and some interpretive signs and benches were also destroyed by the storm," Erickson said.
The lower portion of Mt. Muller trail is passable to hikers with some material over the trail, but the trail system is not open for stock at this time, she said. The upper trail elevation has not been surveyed yet, she added.
Work crews are facing more rain and cold weather this weekend as two more inches are expected to fall tonight and again tomorrow in the Olympic National Forest. Some crews have also reported snow up to a foot deep as low as 2,500 feet elevation.
LIST of Closed Roads
Road #
Milepost
DESCRIPTION
2160000
6.1
Large debris flow over road w/ some fill and roadway loss.
2281000
0.4
Road washout 50' wide x 40' deep
2300000
9.7
Deep Ditch Scour 14' Deep x 200' Long
2340000
0.7
Fill Failure, 1/3 road gone
2340000
6.3
Road washout and plugged culvert
2353000
1.6
Road washout and plugged culvert and surface loss
2361000
0.6
Cedar Ck. Wood debris and Fill Failure
2361000
3.1 - 3.3
Plugged culverts, Washout and Debris flow
2400000
0.7
Road washout
2480000
5.6
Large Road Washout Culvert destroyed
2480000
6.2
Jefferson Ck Bridge M.P. 6.2, Abutment washout
2500000
9.0 - 9.3
Sediment debris flow and multiple plugged culverts, Road washout
2918000
4.0
Riprap around bridge abutment needs replacing ASAP
2922000
8.3
1/2 Road washed out and fill failure
2900000
18.7
Pipe and Flume has washout w/road
3000000
8.9
Twin 48" Dia. Pipes plugged w/ debris over the roads
3040000
7
Plugged 48" culvert, Debris slide over road and fill slope failure.
END
