The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve in Morongo Valley suffered major damage from last weekend’s Tropical Storm Hilary and will remain closed until clean-up crews can finish the daunting task. Over 5 inches of rain hit Morongo Valley on Sunday, August 20th, with much of the muddy run-off gathering in the Preserve; uprooting trees, damaging trails and toppling the boardwalk.
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Executive Director Kevin Wong said a management team and six official BMCP volunteers are currently assessing the extent of damage and need to finish their threat and repair assessments before asking community volunteers for additional assistance. Wong said so far, they’ve found 14 downed trees on the boardwalk that volunteers are sawing into pieces to safely remove. The Preserve’s Education Center is also inundated with excess mud, as well as the Preserve’s access road which Wong said, “got hammered bad.”
Further damage was incurred at the nearby Covington Park, where photos provided from Wong showed a large tree downed and the entirety of its popular skatepark flooded with more mud.
This Saturday, the Preserve will be visited by Director of Regional Parks for San Bernardino County Beahtra Davis for additional assessment for what can be done with county budget.
Wong encourages community members who want to help to not just show up, but to call the main offices first at (760) 792-1843 so the Preserve doesn’t become overwhelmed and difficult to delegate.
