By Todd Marco
Following massive damage along the coast and throughout flooded communities earlier this season, the most recent set of storms have also brought headaches and roadblocks to our more rugged inland terrain.
As dangerously high winds whipped across towering trees on saturated soils, the forces of nature and gravity conspired to shake homes and nerves throughout Aptos.
A stone’s throw from a home recently crushed by a fallen tree, a massive old growth Douglas fir crashed down upon the narrow bridge over Mangels Creek, in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.
On its way down, the tree crashed into three other trees — knocking one off-kilter, smashing another in half, and snapping a recently fallen redwood like a pencil — before exploding to pieces on the Mangels Creek Bridge.
That snapped redwood had touched down upon a neighboring house in the prior storm, and this successive cascade of damage is just a tiny snapshot of what has been wrought across Santa Cruz County this harrowing season.
Of course, there are silver linings and rainbows to celebrate too. Our badly depleted reservoirs now seem full to the brim, and we’re likely to enjoy a lush and rejuvenating spring in the coming weeks.
As for damage control and mitigation, State Parks and emergency crews have been quick to act.
Heavy machinery was quickly brought in to clear debris from the clogged Mangels Creek Bridge, preventing a potential washout from destroying the bridge completely.
The following storm brought more trees down in Mangels Gulch, crashing upon Nisene Marks Park’s most narrow & treacherous section of roadway, causing a mudslide that has dangerously undercut the road. Had State Parks not resurfaced the road this past Fall, the damage may have been much worse.
State Parks was also very quick to take action to protect public safety, closing Nisene Marks to non-authorized vehicles and blocking off unsafe sections of road.
As the storm season recedes and we all collectively dry out, let’s be sure to support and thank the crews and organizations that have worked tirelessly to protect us and keep things moving in this spectacular wilderness we’re so privileged to have outside our doors.
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Editor’s note: Check www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=666 to see when Nisene Marks State Park will reopen.
Photos Credit: Todd Marco