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UPDATE: Flooding Forces Closure Of Mount Rainier National Park

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Published Date

November 25, 2014
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Flooding along Kautz Creek prompted closure of the Nisqually Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park on Tuesday/NPS graphic

Editor's note: Updates with comment from park officials, adds details on past flooding events.

"Rain on snow" conditions similar to those in 2006 that spawned devastating floods in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington led to flooding Tuesday that forced park officials to close the Nisqually Entrance to the park and order the evacuation of park employees and guests at the National Park Inn at Longmire.

Park officials could not immediately be reached to say how many employees and guests were being moved out of the park, or to comment on whether the entrance road was in danger of being washed out by the flows of Kautz Creek. A post on the park's Twitter feed said some culverts were clogged by debris.

In a press release later Tuesday afternoon, acting-Superintendent Trace Swartout said "(H)eavy rain at high elevations on the mountain falling onto the significant snowpack at Paradise has created dangerous conditions throughout the park.  This 'rain on snow' event is similar to conditions that were present when the historic flood occurred in November 2006."

At least 3 inches of rain fell on Monday, and the forecast called for rain throughout Tuesday, with a mix of rain and snow showers expected for Wednesday.

The November 2006 event washed out about a quarter-mile of the road between the Nisqually Entrance and Longmire. Two years later, in November 2008, more flooding hit the park and kept it closed to most vehicle traffic for days. Then as now, the primary area of concern was where Kautz Creek intersected the entrance road. 

Road construction this summer focused on installing a culvert to funnel a branch of Tahoma Creek beneath the road that runs from the park's Nisqually Entrance to Longmire and beyond.

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Debris washed down Tahoma Creek stacked up Tuesday against the Nisqually Entrance Road. A new culvert had been installed beneath the road this past summer/NPS

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Comments

Submitted by Megaera on November 26, 2014 - 6:49pm.

The road's back open today, according to my local news.

I'm glad it wasn't as bad as in '06, but we're supposed to get more heavy rain here (I live less than 50 miles from the Nisqually Entrance) tomorrow.


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