Post by L Roebuck on Aug 2, 2006 9:25:05 GMT -5
Colorado National Memorial closed indefinitely
Aug 2, 2006 07:04 AM CDT
Erica Heartquist Reports
The Coronado National Memorial is closed to the public indefinitely after more than a foot of rain flooded the area within 24 hours.
"We actually have pieces of the road, and the pavement has washed out," says Park Ranger Leigh Carter with the National Park Service.
Carter said parts of a paved road were washed away and the unpaved road to Montezuma Pass is cut off, with boulders and debris piled on top of the roadway.
The normally-dry trails are now nothing but mud.
"We have about six miles of trails that are totally eroded at this point," said Carter.
A trail to a popular Limestone Cave, trees and all five trails were also washed out, following the rain storm that began Sunday night and went well into Monday.
There is no water at the park because the well system and the piping were all damaged.
The picnic area is also gone.
Carter said, "The picnic area had been flooded and is full of debris."
An engineering survey is required to access what repairs will be needed to reopen the park area.
Rangers say damages will run into the millions.
Typically on a summer weekend day at the park, there are between 80 and 100 visitors.
"It's definitely some high-dollar damage because we have facilities damaged here, historic facilities."
The Coronado National Memorial covers nearly 5,000 acres overlooking the San Pedro River Valley.
It marks the first major exploration of the Southwest by Europeans; an expedition by Spaniard Francisco Vasquez de Coronado that crossed into what is now the United States in 1540 while searching for the fabled "Seven Cities of Cibola."
Article: kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5228943&nav=HMO6HMaW
US Department of the Interior: Arizona: Coronado National Memorial
Aug 2, 2006 07:04 AM CDT
Erica Heartquist Reports
The Coronado National Memorial is closed to the public indefinitely after more than a foot of rain flooded the area within 24 hours.
"We actually have pieces of the road, and the pavement has washed out," says Park Ranger Leigh Carter with the National Park Service.
Carter said parts of a paved road were washed away and the unpaved road to Montezuma Pass is cut off, with boulders and debris piled on top of the roadway.
The normally-dry trails are now nothing but mud.
"We have about six miles of trails that are totally eroded at this point," said Carter.
A trail to a popular Limestone Cave, trees and all five trails were also washed out, following the rain storm that began Sunday night and went well into Monday.
There is no water at the park because the well system and the piping were all damaged.
The picnic area is also gone.
Carter said, "The picnic area had been flooded and is full of debris."
An engineering survey is required to access what repairs will be needed to reopen the park area.
Rangers say damages will run into the millions.
Typically on a summer weekend day at the park, there are between 80 and 100 visitors.
"It's definitely some high-dollar damage because we have facilities damaged here, historic facilities."
The Coronado National Memorial covers nearly 5,000 acres overlooking the San Pedro River Valley.
It marks the first major exploration of the Southwest by Europeans; an expedition by Spaniard Francisco Vasquez de Coronado that crossed into what is now the United States in 1540 while searching for the fabled "Seven Cities of Cibola."
Article: kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5228943&nav=HMO6HMaW
US Department of the Interior: Arizona: Coronado National Memorial