Auburn SRA storm closures for rock slides and fallen trees on trails/roads

On Tuesday afternoon, the following closures were implemented in the Auburn State Recreation Area ahead of the storms:

• Mammoth Bar remains closed due to wet weather and is closed to vehicle access.
• Lower Lake Clementine is closed due to an active rock slide in the area.
• Confluence Trail from Mammoth Bar to the Confluence is closed due to trail damage and washout.

Auburn State Recreation Area Superintendent Mike Howard confirmed the slide on Confluence Trail is severe and unstable, resulting in the trail’s closure for the remainder of the winter. Howard also advises recreators to stay off the trails for “the next week or so” due to being saturated and slippery.
According to Howard, the buoy line above the dam broke off and is hanging over the dam, so no boating is allowed until it is repaired. China Bar, Oregon Bar and Birdsall are also closed due to concerns of downed trees with the forecasted wind event.

“Once the storm’s over, we’ll evaluate all that and see what we can reopen,” Howard said.
Howard confirmed there is no concern of the Confluence flooding due to the storm.

“That would take a huge amount of water … We’re not there yet,” Howard said Wednesday morning.
According to Howard, the water level in the Confluence was higher, by a few feet, in 2017 than it is now after the New Year’s storm.

Howard said trees are expected to be down everywhere, so “we’ll be working to clear roads and then trails, in that order.”

For original article and MORE photos CLICK HERE in Gold Country Media.