Union Pacific tracks heavily damaged in Lava Fire
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Union Pacific crews work to repair the 1,100 foot long Dry Creek Bridge after the Lava Fire destroyed it and countless miles of track in Siskiyou County. As seen from US97 north of Weed, California, July 6, 2021. (Image: Brian Gailey, Klamath Falls News)
A red tower crane can bee seen through the burned trees of the Lava Fire in Siskiyou County, California. July 6, 2021. (Image: Brian Gailey, Klamath Falls News)
SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. - The Lava Fire in Siskiyou County has caused 25,000 acres of destruction at the base of Mount Shasta. Timber, grass, brush, are just some of the burned vegetation in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. So far, vegetation is not the only property damaged by the fire. The highly-trafficked Union Pacific rail line has also received significant damages.
The Lava Fire has burned for miles around the UP’s railroad line along the foot of Mount Shasta. At times, fire officials used the tracks as a fire break during the initial battle against the fire. UP even had their firefighting train on-site working the fire. Unfortunately, since the lightning-sparked blaze began on June 24, the line suffered significant damage to an unconfirmed length of the rail and has caused catastrophic damage to the 1,100 foot long Dry Canyon Bridge just north of the Hotlum siding. [map below]
“Due to damage caused by the wildfires in Northern California, Union Pacific Railroad closed the railroad line that runs through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest on June 28 in Siskiyou County,“ said Robynn Tysver communications manager for Union Pacific.
Union Pacific’s Dry Creek Bridge on their highly-trafficked rail line at the base of Mt. Shasta has been significantly damaged thanks to the 25,000-acre lightning-sparked Lava Fire. There is no estimated time as to when the line will reopen. July 6, 2021. (Image: Brian Gailey, Klamath Falls News)
Tysver added, “Fire damaged both our track and the Dry Canyon Bridge, near Hotlum, California, impacting rail operations between Redding, California, and Eugene, Oregon. Freight trains are being diverted over Donner Pass.”
There is no estimated time of when the rail line will reopen. Until then freight will continue to be diverted around the trestle and line repairs.
“We are no longer actively fighting the fire and work is underway to repair the track and the bridge,” said Tysver. “We are still assessing the damage and we do not a timetable for when this work will be done or how long freight trains will be diverted.”
EDITORS NOTE: A request for information from Amtrak on the expected disruption of passenger service to and from Klamath Falls has gone was unanswered as of the publishing of this article.