Sunday's Storm

Sunday's storm did quite a number on the park. With 60 m.p.h. winds, it took down many trees. For the past two days, Ranger Pape & I have been busy clearing trees that have fallen across the roads. Today, we were fortunate to have help from two other DNR employees: Eric, from Black Hawk State Park, and John, from Beed's Lake.

However, there is still plenty of work to be done! Although the roads are cleared, there are still trees & branches down in the picnic areas. We also have yet to see the damage on the trails.

At first we thought all the buildings had been spared, but we soon discovered Monday that a large hackberry had split and fallen on Cabin #1. Fortunately, no one had been staying in the cabin that night. It was quite a fall! The metal rims on the lighting fixture over the table inside the cabin were all shaken about from the crash. Needless to say, we had to cancel Monday night's reservation...

























The buckthorn/honeysuckle volunteer cutting project is still on for this Saturday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., however we may also take some time to clean up from the storm. There are still many stray branches strew about the park.

(With a lot of patience, I managed to capture a picture of a lightning strike at my home during Sunday night's storm!)

Hope to see you Saturday!
Bethany