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Mt. Rainier Flood Damage Update

By drew • December 18, 2006

Mount Rainier National Park
November 2006 Flooding

Heavy rains caused flooding that damaged park roads and facilities.State Routes 410 & 123 and the Paul Peak/Mowich Lake areas are closed at the park boundaries by winter conditions but remain open to normal, non-motorized winter activities such as hiking, snow shoeing and cross-country skiing.Walk-in access is available to Carbon River area trailheads by parking at the entrance and hiking the designated rough route along the washed out road.

Repair efforts are currently focused on the Nisqually Entrance to Longmire corridor. The road crew is reconstructing the 200 yards of missing road at Sunshine Point. Restoration of utilities at Longmire is also underway.

Images: Mt. Rainier After the Flood Flood Repair Update
Public Information Meetings Press Releases
Flood Effects in Specific Park Areas Information for Employees

Heavy equipment repairing the Nisqually Road washout.
NPS
Repair of the Nisqually Road where it once met Sunshine Point campground. Maintenance crews and support staff are working daily, through weekends and holidays, on repairs from Nisqually Entrance to Longmire.

Flood Repair UpdateIt has been only 3 weeks since floods ravaged the park. Yet in that time park employees have done a great deal of work to begin the process of repair and recovery. This is a brief summary of the work already accomplished and a blueprint of work planned in the next few weeks.

Road Repairs
The Nisqually River excavated a 200-yard gap in the park road during the flood. The park road crew has nearly completed repairs, following delivery of more than 2000 tons of rock and long hours of labor. The flood diverted Kautz Creek and it is now flowing through the woods and over the Nisqually Road. The road crew has installed culverts and cleaned ditches to improve drainage until long term repairs can be completed.

Utility System Repairs
At Sunshine Point raging water unearthed and destroyed 1200 feet of buried powerline. Two vaults have been installed as well as conduits to the road on either side of the road washout. Workers have also rebedded 50 feet of exposed power line at the Westside Road and 75 feet above Kautz Creek. They also repaired the overhead river crossing at Longmire. They cleaned sediment from the water system at Longmire and replaced a large section of sewer line lost in the flood.

Repairs Planned for Dec 4 – 15
Mileposts 5.2 and 9.1 In both locations the river eroded the embankment and the edge of road now drops abruptly. Both spots are in danger of collapse. There are two options for repair. The first is to build a rock embankment from the base up almost vertically. The alternative is to reroute the road through the woods above the existing road. The Federal Highway Administration is here this week to flesh out these options. The superintendent will select the repair method next week. These road repairs will be done by an outside contractor and take 2-4 months.

Kautz Creek
 Federal Highways Administration experts are in the park this week and will provide recommendations for repair methods on Friday. There are two options being considered. The first is to take heavy equipment the 1.5 miles to the area where Kautz Creek changed course and dig a channel to force the river back into its previous bed. The other is to install culverts and raise the road bed. The superintendent will decide how to proceed next week and park maintenance employees will begin work immediately.

The power line is exposed and undermined at Kautz Creek for 700 feet. A temporary overhead power line will be installed to provide power to Longmire and Paradise until longer term road and utility repairs occur. The installation will take two weeks.

Longmire Campground Road
There is a need to reestablish the two lane road and stabilize the slope to protect sewer and utility lines. The road crew will improve the Forest Service road to the back gate to provide access to trucks hauling in rock for road repair. Park staff should begin work on the road next week.

Paradise Water Supply
 Edith Creek basin is filled with sediment blocking the catchment reservoir. Park staff will attempt to dig through the snow with a piston bully and excavator and clean out the reservoir this week.

Public Information Meetings Scheduled
National Park Service staff will share information on decisions, timelines, and other factors affecting flood recovery. Sessions will include a slide show of flood damage and repair work completed to date. A question and answer session will also be part of each meeting.

Packwood: Monday, December 11 at 7 p.m. at the Fire Station on Hwy 123

Enumclaw: Tuesday, December 12 at 7 p.m. in the Enumclaw Library Meeting Room

Ashford: Wednesday, December 13 at 7 p.m. at Fire Station 23 on Hwy 706

Eatonville: Thursday, December 14 at 7 p.m. at the Eatonville Community Center at 305 Center Street

Trails
Extensive damage to backcountry bridges and trails. Sections of the Wonderland Trail may be unusable next summer.

The suspension bridge and boardwalk damaged at the Grove of the Patriarchs. The Grove is covered in a thick layer of silt.

Utilities
The main power line was severed and lost Sunshine Point. All locations uphill to Paradise are affected by this loss.

The Longmire sewage line was damaged.

Powerlines that crossed the Nisqually River at Longmire were knocked down.

Extensive sediment in all system filters.

Carbon
More than two miles of the road are severely damaged. There are washed out sections in at least four places.

Access to area trails is now open to foot traffic by parking at the entrance and hiking along a rough, flagged route to trailheads. This could add up to ten miles, round trip, of rough hiking onto area hikes.

A deep gully eroded under the historic Ipsut Patrol Cabin.

Longmire
The main channel of the Nisqually River is pushing closer to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) building. Parking behind the building is gone.

Ohanapecosh
Some water damage to the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center.

Part of campground Loop C damaged by a landslide.

Sunshine Point Campground
The campground, located directly on the bank of the Nisqually River, and the dike that protected it, is gone with the exception of a few campsites.

White River
A small section of downhill lane of the campground road sloughed off and there is damage to some sites in Loop A.

Kautz Helibase
The road is impassable and part of the helipad is sloughing.

Longmire Back Road
The road between the Suspension Bridge and the Community Building is no longer safe for driving. It’s eroded down to one lane in two sections.

The main campground road is completely removed at the road fork immediately behind the Community Building.

Nisqually Road
About 200 yards of the road is washed out and impassable at the former entrance to Sunshine Point Campground.

Water is crossing the road at the junction with Westside Road.

Down to one lane at MP 5 due to slumping.

Kautz Creek diversion is forcing the river to flow over the road and is undermining the road from the helibase turnoff to Kautz Bridge.

There’s now a sheer road edge off at MP 9 creating a precipitous drop off.

Stevens Canyon Road
Slides at MP 5.5 and MP 7.

Large slide released from just below the road, damaging the road edge in two locations and several sites in the Ohanapecosh campground.

Westside Road
Partial lane collapse near the Dry Creek gate.

Significant damage up to the Texas Culvert crossing.

SR 123
Both lanes are washed out at MP 11.5 to a depth of 60-80 feet.

Debris flow across the road from MP 10.5-11.2.

Large washout near Panther Creek.

A portion of the road is washed out just below Cayuse Pass.

SR 410
The road is closed by winter conditions. The area is open to non-motorized winter activities

Artist rendering of the Osceola Mudflow releasing from Mount Rainier.Did You Know?
About 5,600 years ago the summit and northeast face of Mount Rainier fell away in a massive landslide accompanied by volcanic explosions. The Osceola Mudflow, a towering wall of mud and rock, thundered down the White River Valley where it deposited 600′ of debris eventually reaching the Puget Sound.


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