SALT LAKE CITY — The weather couldn't be more perfect for hiking and biking in the Salt Lake City foothills this time of year, but not when many of those popular trails are closed due to Rocky Mountain Power upgrade maintenance.
“I love these hills, these trails. It's a great benefit to all of us living here," said hiker Mary Ciccarello. "It's a wonderful time of year to be here."
Ciccarello takes her dog up to the 18th Avenue Trail every day.
“I've seen some of the park people out who say they're trying to make sure that the trails will be protected during the work. So we'll just have to find other places to hike,” she said.
Among the trails being closed or partially closed by Salt Lake City Public Lands are the East City Creek Trail, the Lower 19th Avenue Bike Trail, half of the I Street Bike Park, and the 18th Avenue Trailhead parking lot.
“What we're doing is replacing the structures, replacing the wood poles with a self-weathering steel," explained Rocky Mountain Power spokesperson David Eskelson, "and also replacing the conductor, and taking measures also to make our facilities more resistant to wildfire if it does happen, but also hardening the system so that our equipment doesn't create sparks that could start a wildfire.”
Rocky Mountain Power has been working steadily over the last few years in high-fire consequence areas.
“Fire behavior has become more and more severe as the years have gone by,” Eskelsen added.
Add bikers to this list of those bummed they can’t take full advantage of the perfect conditions.
“That's like the prime time for biking, so when they close, it's kind of a bummer," said Easton Holt. "Yeah, you can't have as much fun when half it's closed and on the perfect time of year to use it.”
But Eskelsen said fall is the ideal season for construction.
“It's a time when overall customer demand is down. So it's simpler to do this kind of work," he claimed.
The good news is that there are still plenty of open trails in the foothills to explore this fall.
“We have to do everything we can to protect the land and to make sure that people are safe,” Ciccarello said.
The current phase of the wildfire mitigation project will wrap up in months and trails will reopen in December. As for the next phase, the power company will make upgrades in the Capitol to North Bench area sometime next year.
