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Flash floods close roads into Death Valley National Park

Some roads in Death Valley National Park are closed after flash floods hit western Nevada and northern Arizona over the weekend.
/ Source: The Associated Press

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Some roads in and out of Death Valley National Park have been closed after they were inundated over the weekend with mud and debris from flash floods that also hit western Nevada and northern Arizona hard.

Officials on Sunday provided no estimate on when the roads around Death Valley would be reopened.

Image: The damaged intersection of Kelbacker Road and Mojave Road in the Mojave National Preserve, Calif., on July 31, 2022.
The damaged intersection of Kelbacker Road and Mojave Road in the Mojave National Preserve, Calif., on July 31, 2022.National Park Service via AP

Motorists were also urged to avoid Southern California’s Mojave National Preserve after flooding buckled pavement on some roads. The rain also prompted closures of highways and campgrounds elsewhere, but no injuries were reported.

The storms produced torrential downpours and the National Weather Service reported that more than an inch of rain fell in 15 minutes Sunday near Kingman, Arizona, which is close to the state line with California.

In a mountainous area east of Los Angeles at the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, mudslides sent trees and large rocks onto roads, blocking them near the city of Yucaipa.

Forecasters said more thunderstorms were possible on Monday.