Historic Death Valley tower topples over as driver uses it to free vehicle, rangers say
UPDATE: A driver responsible for toppling a historic Death Valley tower as they used it free their vehicle has come forward, rangers say.
After toppling the 113-year-old salt tram tower April 19, the person “is taking full responsibility for their actions,” Death Valley National Park said in a May 16 news release.
“Although we would certainly prefer that this damage hadn’t happened, we are glad that the person who did this ultimately took responsibility for their actions and came forward,” acting Superintendent Elizabeth Ibañez said in the release.
The person told rangers their actions were “done during a time of desperation while being deeply stuck in mud, and that it wasn’t their intent to cause harm to the historic structure.”
The original story is below.
A historic Death Valley tower toppled as a driver used it to free their stuck vehicle, rangers say.
Sometime between April 1 and April 23, the tower, part of the Saline Valley Salt Tram, “was pulled over while a person used a winch to extract their vehicle out of deep mud,” the National Park Service said in a May 13 news release.
“I hope the person responsible for this damage will contact us so we can discuss restitution,” Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in the release.
Tracks showed that a vehicle drove off the legal roadway shortly before getting stuck, rangers said.
“Park rangers believe that someone used the nearby tower as an anchor to pull their vehicle out of the mud,” rangers said.
In doing so, rangers said the tower toppled, “pulling its concrete footings out of the ground.”
“I have hiked along sections of this tramway, and am amazed by the tenacity it took to build,” Reynolds said.
The 13-mile long aerial tram was constructed in 1911 “to transport salt from Saline Valley to Owens Valley,” rangers said.
“The tramway climbed over 7,000 vertical feet at steep vertical grades up to 40 degrees,” rangers said.
The tram’s construction required “1 million board feet of lumber and 600 tons of iron,” according to NPS.
“Considered nationally significant because of its age, length, steepness, preservation, and scenic setting,” the tram is listed among the National Register of Historic Places, according to rangers.
Only four of the tram’s towers sit within the national park, rangers said, while the majority of the tramway sits on Bureau of Land Management territory.
The damaged tower is the closest of the four to the Saline Valley lakebed, rangers said.
Prior to this incident, a salt tram stabilization project was planned using funding from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, rangers said.
However, rangers said they are unsure if the funds can be used to re-anchor the tower.
Rangers asked for anyone with information to contact them at 888-653-0009 or go.nps.gov/SubmitATip.
Saline Valley is about 110 miles east of Fresno.
This story was originally published May 13, 2024, 2:25 PM.
