YAKIMA, Washington-
Heavy rains and flooding destroyed campgrounds and damaged roads at Mount Rainier National Park, forcing it to close for the first time since Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980.
Nearly 18 inches, or 45 centimeters, of rain fell over 36 hours at the park, one of the crown jewels of the Pacific Northwest. The deluge on Sunday and Monday swamped roads and bridges and cut power and sewer lines.
Initial cleanup will take weeks. Park officials, who assessed some of the damage Thursday, said they hope to return to normal operations by Christmas. In some places, they won’t know the extent of the damage until after the snow melts in the spring.
“Some places get that much rain in a year, and we had it in 36 hours,” said park spokeswoman Lee Taylor. “When we were finally able to get out and start assessing the damage, it was a very sobering day.”
Mount Rainier wasn’t the only place that suffered damage from the Pineapple Express storm, named for its origin in warm Pacific waters. Its heavy rains also washed out a major highway near Oregon’s Mount Hood and closed the North Cascades Highway in northcentral Washington.
At Mount Rainier, the Nisqually River engulfed the main scenic highway through the park, leaving a quarter-mile (nearly half-kilometer) gash in the Nisqually Road. The river now flows where a campground once stood.
All other roads in the park closed Nov. 1 for the winter, though they also suffered extensive damage. Crews were furiously working to fix the main road.
Park officials aim to reopen by Christmas, which is a popular season at Mount Rainier, with rangers offering guided snowshoe walks and cross-country skiers hitting the trails. Sledding takes place at the base of the mountain.
