The Shoshone National Forest has reopened Brooks Lake Road near Dubois after a massive mudslide covered the road with mud, trees, and large boulders July 22.
The Wind River Ranger District had been working with a Dubois contractor, Peak Excavation, to make the most of an unexpected problem.
“We got the biggest culvert we could get within a reasonable amount of time to get the road back open,” said Jeff von Kienast, district ranger for the Wind River Ranger District. “We still have a little work to do, but the road’s open.”
That’s good news for Brooks Lake Lodge. The road is the only way to get to the lodge, but the Wind River Ranger District stepped up to ensure it didn’t lose any business.
“People book reservations at Brooks Lake Lodge up to a year ahead of time,” von Kienast said. “We allowed the lodge and a few commercial operators to keep going.”
One Way Only
The Brooks Lake Road turns off U.S. Highway 26, 33 miles northwest of Dubois. It's the only way for vehicles to access Brooks Lake, the Brooks Lake and Pinnacle Campgrounds, and the lodge.
According to von Kienast, the debris flow occurred near a problematic spot known as the Pinnacles. It was caused by intense afternoon thunderstorms that saturated the slopes with moisture.
“The consistency of the material was like wet cement but with big boulders,” he said. “The drainage was 100 feet deep with mud. It plugged the old culvert and flowed over the road, blocking it entirely, and one of the boulders was half the size of the bulldozer we got to remove it.”
On July 23, Peak Excavation was called to clear the road. Coincidentally, they were ready to go on a moment’s notice.
“They happened to have a dozer loaded up on a lowboy, ready to go to another job,” von Kienast said. “When we called them, they headed that way immediately.”
With the dozer and other heavy equipment, Peak Excavation began clearing the road while the Wind River Ranger District started shopping for a new culvert.
Everyone involved understood the urgency. During the peak of the summer season, the last thing anyone wanted was the only road to Brooks Lake being inaccessible.
“There are trailheads and campgrounds back there,” von Kienast said. “People can go hiking, camping, or horseback riding. If there was a medical emergency, we’d need to be able to get to them. That’s why we keep the road closed except to a few groups and outfitters.”
Shoshone Shuttle
The staff and guests at Brooks Lake Lodge were concerned at first but were able to continue summer activities with relatively low impact.
“We heard it was washed out that evening,” said Natalie Pargenoni, the assistant manager of Brooks Lake Lodge. “Since it’s the Forest Service’s road, we got in contact with them, and they directed us about next steps.”
All outgoing guests were transported to Dubois by personnel with the ranger district. Then, to accommodate incoming reservations, the district transported people to the lodge.
“They had 35 people show up in a big group,” von Kienast said. “When they came in a group, and they were all going to be at the lodge, we knew where they’d be in case of an emergency.
Pargenoni said the road-closing mudslide didn’t have any impact on the lodge, thanks to the assistance from the Wind River Ranger District.
“We've been in constant communication with the Forest Service, so when we had a group come up, they let them pass through,” she said. “Everybody who had a reservation has been able to keep it, which was really nice.”
Funding A Long-Term Solution
Aside from some 30-minute delays anticipated this week, Brooks Lake Road is fully open to the public.
Peak Excavation is working on creating a dip in the newly repaired road that will allow future mudslides to flow over the road, making it easier to clear. They’re also placing riprap, heavy, unconsolidated material, that will prevent the road from eroding away.
For von Kienast, it was an excellent and rapid response to a short-term problem. Now, he’s thinking about the future.
“There’s a lot of material at the Pinnacles that’s eroding away,” he said. “To get them to mobilize and come all the way down that drainage takes quite a bit of rain, but who knows what size of material it could send down in the future?”
According to van Kienast, the Shoshone National Forest will probably seek federal funding for “a bigger fix.” That will need to be designed and engineered, which will take more time and resources, but should mitigate the impacts of future mudslides.
That would be more economical than building an entirely new road, but any bigger fix is still several years off.
What matters, in the meantime, is that the only road to Brooks Lake is open.
“There's really no way to get in and out of there if that road's not open,” von Kienast said. “I’ve got a pretty good crew, and I'm really appreciative of everyone at Peak Excavation. We had to get that road open, and we did it.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
