DEATH VALLEY (KTNV) — It has been eight months since Hurricane Hilary passed through California and Nevada.
In just one day, the storm dropped 2.2 inches of rain at Death Valley National Park, which is more rain in one day than the park normally received in a year. According to the National Park Service, all roads in the park were damaged and in some places, the road completely disappeared. Waterlines, sewer lines, and sewage lagoons, as well as the roads, had to be fixed.
After months of hard work, rangers said emergency repairs have been completed on 1,323 miles of roads inside the park and several utilities.
“We are so grateful to everyone involved: 152 Death Valley National Park employees, 256 NPS employees from other Park Service units, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, Caltrans, Federal Highway Administration, Inyo County, multiple contractors, our neighboring communities, and countless others," said park Superintendent Mike Reynolds. "It truly was a massive and complex disaster recovery effort.”
According to the National Park Service, the park is about the size of the state of Connecticut. While the emergency phase of repairs has officially wrapped up, there is still work to do.
Rangers said permanent repairs for some paved roads will begin later this year. That includes erosion control features to make roads more resilient to future flash floods.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, rangers said they're planning on major repairs at Salt Creek, Titus Canyon, Lower Wildrose, and Darwin Falls.
Roads that are shown in green are currently open while roads in red are currently closed.
You can also see the latest conditions on Death Valley National Park's website.
