Zion Park Reopens After Flooding
Below are updates from this Salt Lake Tribune Article:
Southwestern Utah’s Zion National Park reopened its popular Zion Canyon site on Thursday, though some of the area’s trails were restricted while rangers assessed damage from recent storms and made repairs.
NPS spokesman Ron Terry said the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive also was open once more, although a short stretch of the road was limited to one lane of travel just south of the Court of the Patriarchs.
Park officials also reopened Watchman Campground and the Zion Lodge, Terry said.
Zion Park Reopens After Flooding
The massive storm that caused widespread flooding in SW Utah has ended and water levels are dropping. Damage appears to have been minimal and facilities are now reopening.
Zion National Park was closed Tuesday because of fears that flood waters would damage roads and other infrastructure. The park visitor center reopened Wednesday. It is expected that Zion Canyon will be reopened today (Thursday).
Road damage on the east side of the park may limit access from that direction.
People evacuated from several southern Utah communities during the storm are now being allowed to return to their homes. There was concern that a dam would fail on the East Fork the Virgin River, above the town of Rockville, but it now looks like the dam will hold. Several bridges were endangered but most held and are usable.
A bridge washed away near the town of Gunlock, west of St George, and so access to that community is difficult (via a rough 4X4 road). The tiny community of Motoqua, on the Utah/Nevada border, has been isolated because the storm washed out the access road.
In New Harmony, officials feared a bridge would fail, cutting off access to a residential development, but the bridge held. It appears to be stable and is being used.
Homes were washed away in Arizona, just across the border, in the small communities of Beaver Dam and Littlefield.
Water levels were higher in this flood than they were during the destructive flood of 2005, but Utah communities fared better this time because of recent flood control work.
Southwestern Utah’s Zion National Park reopened its popular Zion Canyon site on Thursday, though some of the area’s trails were restricted while rangers assessed damage from recent storms and made repairs.
NPS spokesman Ron Terry said the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive also was open once more, although a short stretch of the road was limited to one lane of travel just south of the Court of the Patriarchs.
Park officials also reopened Watchman Campground and the Zion Lodge, Terry said.
Zion Park Reopens After Flooding
The massive storm that caused widespread flooding in SW Utah has ended and water levels are dropping. Damage appears to have been minimal and facilities are now reopening.
Zion National Park was closed Tuesday because of fears that flood waters would damage roads and other infrastructure. The park visitor center reopened Wednesday. It is expected that Zion Canyon will be reopened today (Thursday).
Road damage on the east side of the park may limit access from that direction.
People evacuated from several southern Utah communities during the storm are now being allowed to return to their homes. There was concern that a dam would fail on the East Fork the Virgin River, above the town of Rockville, but it now looks like the dam will hold. Several bridges were endangered but most held and are usable.
A bridge washed away near the town of Gunlock, west of St George, and so access to that community is difficult (via a rough 4X4 road). The tiny community of Motoqua, on the Utah/Nevada border, has been isolated because the storm washed out the access road.
In New Harmony, officials feared a bridge would fail, cutting off access to a residential development, but the bridge held. It appears to be stable and is being used.
Homes were washed away in Arizona, just across the border, in the small communities of Beaver Dam and Littlefield.
Water levels were higher in this flood than they were during the destructive flood of 2005, but Utah communities fared better this time because of recent flood control work.
posted by Utah Blog Admin @ 9:29 AM
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