Mount Charleston road reopens as area recovers from flooding
The first of Mount Charleston’s three closed main roads reopened to the public Thursday evening for the first time since the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary left a swath of destruction on the mountain more than two months ago.
The reopenings of the other two roads are set to happen over the next two weeks, officials said during a news conference Thursday.
“These three highways endured significant damage during the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Hillary,” Mario Gomez, District 1 engineer for the Nevada Department of Transportation, said of the storm, which dumped about 8 inches of rain on Kyle and Lee canyons in August.
But while the roads are scheduled to reopen, barring any unforeseen issues or weather, some of the mountain’s most popular hiking trails will remain closed for about two years because of heavy damage, a U.S. Forest Service official said. They include the popular Cathedral Rock Trail, Mary Jane Falls and others, as well as the Deer Creek Picnic Site.
“I’m going to say two years, maybe more,” said Deborah MacNeil, area manager for the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. “I know that’s not what people want to hear.”
But MacNeil said hikers can use many other trails, including the Fletcher Canyon Trailhead, Echo Trail and the Eagle’s Nest Trail. MacNeil said that “99 percent” of the recreation area will be reopened effective Friday. She said that of the recreation area’s 132 miles of trails, 8 miles will be closed.
“So I think the biggest thing is just, please be patient,’” MacNeil said of the closures.
Officials are asking the public to not take a chance on any of the closed trails. If a hiker gets injured and needs help, a rescue operation would be difficult.
“If people are going to go and break those closure orders, it’s going to be very hard for us to get in there and get people out of there,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jason Douglas of the Mount Charleston Fire Protection District.
‘Cautiously optimistic’
The road reopenings include:
— Lee Canyon Road, also known as state Route 156, reopened Thursday at 6 p.m., NDOT spokesperson Justin Hopkins confirmed in a text message.
— Kyle Canyon Road, also known as state Route 157, is scheduled to reopen Nov. 3.
— Deer Creek Road, also known as state Route 158, is slated to reopen on Nov. 10.
The total cost of the roadwork repairs is about $11 million, Gomez said.
Though the roads are starting to reopen, the repair work continues on the mountain.
About 30 to 40 people in Old Town, one of the mountain’s communities, were still without water on Thursday. The hope is to get everyone’s water service back up and running by next week, said Corey Enus, spokesperson for the Las Vegas Valley Water District.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Enus said.
John Lytle, 69, and Julie Jarvis, 58, who live in Boulder City, have another home in Old Town, where the water had just been restored on Thursday.
“It’s a pain,” Lytle said of the water outage. “I mean, think about it, the toilet, dishes.”
“They got a lot of work to do, but they’ve come a long way in a short time,” Jarvis said. “So we’re happy with the progress they’ve made.”
Jim Seely, the marketing director for Lee Canyon, said the progress to open the ski destination for its winter operations is “going very well.”
“Our opening date could be anywhere in mid-November to early December,” Seely said.
Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com.
