Elko, NV – The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will be doing rock scaling to address hazardous rocks from some of the cut slopes above the Lamoille Canyon Road near Elko, NV.
The road will be closed to all vehicle traffic and recreational activities from 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27 through 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. The closure will start above the junction of Nevada State Route 227 (Lamoille Highway).
“We appreciate the public’s patience as we continue making the canyon safe after the Range 2 Fire,” Josh Nicholes, Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge District Ranger, said. “For the safety of the road crew and recreating public there will be no access to the canyon during this time.”
Sections of the Lamoille Canyon road have steep and rocky slopes above the road that produce rock fall onto the road, often hampering travel along the road. In the fall of 2018, the Range 2 Fire burned more than 9,000 acres in and around the Lamoille Canyon area removing the vegetation from some of these slopes. Without vegetation slowing water from rain and snow events, rocks along the slopes have a greater potential to move and fall on the road.
To address this issue, the Forest constructed 1,500 feet of barrier wall along the inside slope of the road in order to catch these rocks in the spring of 2019. This scaling effort will further diminish the risk of rocks falling onto the road.
Contact the Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge District Office in Elko for information and updates at (775) 738-5171.
