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Winter Weather Snarling Access To Mount Rainier National Park

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Published Date

January 16, 2020
Stormy weather has kept the road to the Nisqually Entrance to Mount Rainier closed to the public/NPS

Stormy weather has kept the Nisqually Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park closed to the public/NPS

Winter is a particularly notable season at Mount Rainier National Park, with some incredible snowstorms that leave incredible amounts of snow. This winter is no different, with a series of storms forcing park officials to close the Nisqually Entrance near Ashford, Washington, for the near future.

The closure actually began last Sunday, January 12, and it will remain in place while crews deal with downed trees and snow removal.

"The heavy snow load on branches continues to cause trees to fall along the seven miles of road between Nisqually Entrance and Longmire," a park release Wednesday afternoon said. "Each day the road crew spends several hours cutting a path the width of one vehicle through the fallen trees. The road crew has also been key to safely evacuating staff and visitors from Longmire, with snowplows leading convoys out of the park. "

Park officials hope to reopen safe administrative access to Longmire in the coming days, though that could be delayed by additional treefalls across the road.

"Once administrative access is re-established, crews will begin clearing the full width of the road to Longmire and all parking areas for public use. Paradise is expected to remain closed while crews focus on access to Longmire first," the park release said.

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Comments

Submitted by Joshua Israel on January 17, 2020 - 3:55am.

Gorgeous Park. My family enjoyed all the seasons at Rainier when I used to be based at Fort Lewis (JBLM).  Longmire Lodge is breathtakingly beautiful. Loved the stone fireplace inside Longmire Lodge. Great work for crews for digging the Nisqually Road out. 


Submitted by tahoma on January 17, 2020 - 9:21pm.

Nisqually Entrance will remain closed through the holiday weekend:

https://twitter.com/MountRainierNPS/status/1218351058029858821


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