Trail Ridge Road Closed For Through Travel Tuesday Night, July 23

Trail Ridge Road will be closed for through travel on Tuesday, July 23, from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The road will be closed at the Bowen/Baker Trailhead which is located just south of Timber Creek Campground on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. A culvert will be replaced during the closure of the road.

Other work along Trail Ridge Road on the west side will take place at two additional locations but will not impact access on the road. The Farview Curve overlook and adjacent parking area will be temporarily closed beginning July 17. Rocks will be placed to prevent high water flows from undercutting the structure. This work should take approximately one week to complete.

Work will also occur near Milner Pass, the week of July 29, in a recurring mud slide area. During heavy snow melt, large volumes of debris flow over the road toward Poudre Lake, blocking the road. A deflection berm will be built to adjust the direction of the flow of debris. The small pullout area near this location will be closed for staging equipment and materials. This project will not impact the Milner Pass parking area.

For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park please call the park's Information Office at (970) 586-1206.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Update on Big Meadows Fire - 2 More Trails Closed

The Big Meadows Fire remained at 400 acres overnight. Firefighters are planning an indirect attack today due to the high number of beetle killed trees that make moving through the area very difficult and dangerous. The plan is to hold the fire east of Trail Ridge Road (Highway 34), west of the Continental Divide, and north of Tonahutu Creek. There are no structures or communities at risk.

A map published today on InciWeb shows the fire is currently located just north of Granite Falls, and towards the east of Big Meadows, roughly 4.5 miles from the Green Mountain Trailhead.

There are now seven trails that have been temporarily closed in the area - the Onahu Trail, the Green Mountain Trail, the lower Tonahutu Trail, the Tonahutu Spur Trail, the Grand Lake Lodge Spur Trail, the Timber Lake Trail and the trail which branches toward Mount Ida from Milner Pass.

All major roads and facilities in Rocky Mountain National Park are open as are the neighboring communities of Grand Lake and Estes Park.

As of this morning there were 97 personnel fighting the fire. More resources are arriving and are anticipating around 130 personnel tonight.

In addition to trail closures, InciWeb is also reporting that campgrounds have been evacuated, and 2 hikers had to be removed via helicopter.

The park has set up a recorded Fire Information Line at (970) 586-1381 which will be updated when new information on the Big Meadows Fire is available.

The weather forecast for today for the Grand Lake area calls for more warm weather, with winds expected to be around 14 mph. There's a 30% chance for an afternoon thunderstorm after 2:00 p.m.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com