A historic wooden tower is accidentally knocked down by a tourist who used it to winch a vehicle stuck in the mud in California’s Death Valley National Park, federal officials said.
The National Park Service said in a statement Thursday that the traveler recently came forward but will not be identified. It is not clear whether any action will be taken against them.
The concrete foundation of a 113-year-old tower was freed from its bond to the desert floor on April 19 in Saline Valley, about 250 miles west of Las Vegas, according to the Park Service.
Saline Valley Salt Tram Tower No. 1 hit the ground and remained largely intact, Park Service photos showed.
That person eventually reported the incident to the park authority, which was set up to get to the bottom of the incident, and took responsibility. In a statement, the Park Service said they used a tower to secure the winch while the vehicle became “deeply stuck in the mud” not far from the marked roadway. It is said that he did.
“It was not their intention to cause any damage to the historic building,” the agency said.
The streetcar included 20 original support towers that facilitated the 21.4-mile route from Saline Valley south to Owens Valley. The tram was built by the Saline Valley Salt Company between 1911 and 1913 and climbed 7,600 feet above sea level over the Inyo Mountains, according to the Park Service.
Construction costs (about $9.5 million in today’s dollars) nearly bankrupted the company, which ultimately leased it to another salt producer, the Park Service said. According to the Park Service, it carried salt until 1930.
The streetcar was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and is considered the “steepest streetcar in the United States” and “the most scenic, historic, and best-preserved streetcar of its type in existence.” It has been described as one of the best, oldest and largest streetcars.
The four northernmost towers of the tram (including Tower 1) are located within Death Valley National Park. The Park Service said in its 2021 structural report that the concrete foundation of No. 1 is “deteriorated beyond repair” and will need to be replaced.
The Park Service said a “stabilization project” for the four towers was planned before the incident, but it was unclear whether the funds would be available to repair the first tower.
“The park’s resource management team is working to fully assess the damage and develop a plan for what a responsible salt train restoration will look like,” the park service said.
