Rain washes out roads in Joshua Tree National Park

Officials with Joshua Tree National Park have announced closures after heavy rain washed out roads over the weekend.

Pinto Basin Road from White Tank Campground to Cottonwood Springs has been closed and maintenance crews don’t expect to have the roadway cleared until Wednesday, July 22.

“It looks like the roads in the park are still intact. Now, it is simply a matter of cleaning the road and removing the mud, rocks, water and debris,” said park superintendent David Smith. “Although we hope to have all of the paved roads open in the next 24-48 hours, it will be awhile before all of the dirt roads are cleared of mud. A safe bet would be to put off any dirt road excursions in the park for a few more days and then check with park staff before exploring.”

Park biologists are currently assessing water sources in the northern portion of the park in the hopes of opening the 49 Palms Oasis Trail later this week, officials said in a release. The trail has been closed due to drought conditions to allow area bighorn access to the one remaining water hole.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will announce when the trail is officially open.

Park officials remind visitors to not drive through fast-moving water on roadways and watch out for desert tortoises venturing onto roadways to drink from puddles.

And rain is causing many more issues, both in the high desert and on the valley floor.

Yucca Valley has issued a traffic advisory for Highway 62 and Highway 247 both inside and outside of town limits due to the closure of I-10 after a bridge collapsed four miles west of Desert Center on Sunday.

Due to various detour routes directing traffic north on Routes 177 and 95, and then back on to Highway 62, traffic volumes have increased significantly throughout Yucca Valley, officials announced Monday.

The volume of truck traffic is particularly impacting travel within town. Officials said this increase in traffic volume is anticipated to significantly impact travel within town for an extended time frame, until I-10 is back open.

Town officials have requested that truck traffic use Route 95 north and use I-40 west for connectivity to the Inland Empire. In the meantime, Yucca Valley residents are encouraged to use alternate routes throughout town, including Sunnyslope to the north, and Onaga/Yucca Trail to the south.