Major Flood and Mudslide Chokes 395, Destroys Homes, Damages Hatchery

Written by Benett Kessler

Sunday, 13 July 2008

A literal river of mud, debris and water crashed down the Sierra foothills Saturday. A wall of mud destroyed 15 homes, part of the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery facilities and left Highway 395 crippled and closed by a 1/4 mile mudslide. The sudden devastation brought firefighters from Independence, Lone Pine, Big Pine and CalFire. The CHP immediately closed the highway at both north and south ends of Independence. For more than 6 hours, the highway remained totally blocked off as tons of mud slid across and into the south end of the Fort Independence Indian Reservation and beyond. The slide did not reach the town of Independence nor the Los Angeles aqueduct. Sheriff's officials said that above the highway, the volume of water and debris out of North Oak Creek was "incredible." Wide swaths of grey debris and rivers of water flowed down the foothills of the Sierra from a sudden and dramatic downpour high in the mountains. The water came down in an area devoid of plant life, where last July's fire destroyed thousands of acres. Most believe that the fire damage left the area vulnerable to mudslide and flood potential. The destructive flood took out all of the buildings at the Bright Ranch in the Oak Creek drainage. Resident there, Mr. Keith Bright, was not at home when the disaster hit. Further down Oak Creek a dozen or so homes were lost or took major damage. Saturday night, residents of Oak Creek were evacuated. One man, trapped on his roof with boiling mud and flood waters below him, was rescued. No lives were lost and no one was injured. At Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, rushing mud and water destroyed several homes there as well as the fish race ways. All of the trout were lost. The hatchery building itself remained untouched but the other facilities were virtually destroyed. Temporary evacuation centers were set up in Independence and Big Pine. Traffic backed up for miles, both north and south. Finally, around midnight, the CHP began to escort traffic through one lane. That pattern continued for most of Sunday with long waits and impatient motorists. With flash flood warnings still in effect, the Forest Service decided not to issue Wilderness permits from Onion Valley to Lone Pine. Saturday night Highways 190 and 136 into Death Valley were closed due to flash floods and debris. 190 re-opened Sunday with 136 expected to follow. Inyo Sheriff Bill Lutze declared a local emergency and asked citizens to take an active role in their safety. He said that no one should enter flood zones, those in flood areas should seek higher ground and never drive through flooded roadways. Comments (5) Subscribe to this comment's feed David A. Wright said:   I was at the post office in Big Pine when I heard the sirens of the first responders from ISO and CDF heading south at Code 3. Turned on my scanner and heard the drama unfold. A friend of mine, a ranger at Manzanar, lost his home. He's OK, he was still at work when the flood came down. July 14, 2008 Phil said:   I was caught up in this unfortunate event on the southbound 395, Sunday the 13th. Returning from a Mammoth Lakes fishing trip, images flashed in my mind of a terrible head-on while I sat for 45 minutes north of the town of Independence. My fishing pal commented how he loathed driving highway 395 because some erratic driver usually causes a major delay when he’s on it. He cursed the southbound drivers who impatiently tried to pass on the undivided highway, and risked their lives. And other lives. But this time, it was Mother Nature causing the delay, as it did last July. Last year, we had just missed the east Sierra mountain fires and saw the smoldering foothills and the blackened acreage near Independence. Folks were slowing down to see the distant fires. Now, after those fires, the vegetation was naturally removed and no barrier was left to hold back this past weekend’s thundering rain that came tormenting off the mountain, I suppose. So we sat motionless on the highway. Then we moved for a few minutes and sat some more. People were getting out of their vehicles and walking towards the distant rest area. We still had not idea what was going on ahead, but we noticed it was comfortable enough outside to turn off the ac. Dark clouds hovered over Onion Valley and Mt. Whitney. A snowplow came roaring past us on the shoulder --- I thought, that must be one heck of a metallic carnage to send in one of those. And then we reached the accident scene. There were no bodies, no metal. The snowplows were working to create temporary canals to divert the awe of mud, water and debris parallel to the highway. Creative and efficient these men in Caterpillar earth movers were, while CHP handled the traffic as best they could. We slowly squeezed through on a mud-slickened single lane, and caught a glance of the small neighborhood that appeared to have taken the head-on. Now our two and one-half hour delay was forgotten as we witnessed the whole scene. And we understood the cause of the delay. I reflected and reprimanded my own foolish assumptions. July 14, 2008 Colleen Miyano, Manzanar Committee said:   Please let us know how we can help Mr. Keith Bright and others who have been affected by the mudslides and flooding. Thank you! July 14, 2008 krystal herrera said:   My dad is the asst. manager there and i feel this story hits too close to home. My parents and brother were forced to move out today. My aunt to went up to help my parents contacted ABC channel 7 and they said that they were too far to cover, and to call someone one else...what kind of world is this that we don't help people in need in our own country but other countries we lend a helping hand! I am starting a fund to help raise money for the families affected on Mount Whitney. To donate please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Thank you. Krystal Herrera July 14, 2008 Darcy said:   I'm saddened to have learned of this devastation. My family and I just visited the fish hatchery for the first time on June 22nd. We had such a wonderful experience and the hatchery was the most beautiful we'd visited thus far. July 21, 2008 Write comment Show/Hide comment form Name Email Comment Write the displayed characters Add Comment