The remote town of Happy Camp will likely be a little less isolated by the end of the Day.
For nearly three weeks, State highway 96 has been shut four miles west of Happy Camp. A slowly eroding hillside started calving rock, trees and boulders onto the ribbon of asphalt below, forcing Caltrans to close the road January 17th.
Caltrans hopes to reopen the road before noon today.
“At this point, Caltrans feels it appropriate to reopen it, after a geological investigation was conducted.” said Lupita Franco, a Caltrans spokeswoman.
There has been no official detour available, but locals familiar with national forest roads have found ways. The rural highway generally follows the Klamath River.
It’s unclear how long the road will remain open.
“It seems like this slide becomes more active when rain or snow or even wind happen in that area.” Franco said.
The national weather service is predicting a chance of rain in the vicinity Friday night into Sunday morning.