The following is a press release from the Gila National Forest Office, regarding forest roads in the area:
Reserve Ranger District, Gila National Forest, has received significant amounts of rain over the weekend. Many forest roads have either been completely washed out or damaged. Below are the current road conditions:
• FR 94 is passable from Apache Creek to 5 Springs Divide; 5 Springs Divide to Collins Park is not passable;
5 Springs Divide to Long Canyon to Bursum is now passable.
• FS 47 in Cottonwood Canyon is impassable from John Kerr to Long Canyon.
• The Y Canyon County Road (B054) from Collins Park to (C019) Bursum County Road is not passable. The roads are washed out.
• FR 141 is passable, and the only safe route to and from Willow Creek, Snow Lake, and Elk Springs.
• FR 28 to Willow Creek is now open. The primary access to Willow Creek is Forest Road 141.
• FR 49 to Toriette Lakes (northwest of Reserve) has been washed out.
• FR 233 to Eagle Peak Lookout has been repaired and passable.
• SNOW LAKE IS ACCESSIBLE but from Snow Lake to Aeroplane Mesa, it is NOT PASSABLE.
• SNOW LAKE is full but has not breached the dam.
• FR 30 to Turkey Track towards Beaverhead to the Forest boundary is NOT PASSABLE.
District employees are continuing to assess the damage, and prioritize cleanup efforts and repair. Rain is still falling across the Reserve Ranger District and is slowing down progress on repairs. Forest visitors are asked to use extreme caution when traveling on Forest roads and avoid areas of high water flow.
The Forest is assisting the Catron County Type 3 Incident Management Team with personnel, communications, and delivering supplies to the Communities of Glenwood and Mogollon.
For further current road information on the Reserve Ranger District, call (575) 533-6231.
