This morning I was at my desk, fortunately looking somewhat busy when my boss walked in. She works in the Valley, a good 30 minutes away, and I don't see her often. It turns out that she can't get to work via her regular route today or for the undefined future because Highway 140 between where I live and the park entrance is under a rockslide.
Last October, as the story was told to me, an RV was traveling 140 in this area and scraped its roof against a rock overhang that extends over half of the road. HH and I eye that overhang when we drive that road, and speculate whether or not the trailer could pass underneath, because there is no sign indicating clearance. When the RV connected with the rock, sparks flew and started a fire up the mountainside. The fire grew to at least 200 acres, and an airplane pilot died while flying over to drop retardant.
The fire left the mountainside bare of vegetation, and the past couple days' rain brought it down. I got this photo from the grapevine. I don't know the photographer's name, but she was driving along the road when the slide occurred. No one was hurt but lots of people had to do some walking to get out of the area because their cars were trapped in the debris.
My guess is it's not a matter of shoveling the rocks and mud off the road; the slope will have to be stabilized and the road itself repaired. There are other entrances to the park, of course, but they're all spaced far apart. What a mess to be faced with at the height of the tourist season.
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Thought of the day:
Behind every cloud is another cloud. - Judy Garland
