CALIENTE, Calif. — More than a week after Tropical Storm Hilary passed over Kern County, the damage is still being assessed.
Twin Oaks resident Nate Bozarth finally made his way home traveling up Caliente Creek Road for the first time since Hilary.
“I’ve never seen this much water come in all at one time" he said.
Bozarth works in Bakersfield, so following the storm the damaged roads caused him to have to travel around the mountain. This added time to his commute but he said he’s one of the lucky ones.
“This is actually the first day I’ve come through, I’ve been going through Walker Basin,” he said. “People in the canyon got stuck and couldn’t go either way.”
Kern County Public Works Roads Department added dirt to washed away roads in order to make them passable, but it’s still a dangerous journey. Some two lane curves have been reduced to a single-lane dirt paths.
Out of the 35 county-maintained roads, 19 were originally closed following the storm, according to Public Works Engineering Manager, Alejandro R. Bedolla. The initial estimated damage of damages is $20 million of work that will be needed to repair the roads that were damaged.
California’s Office of Emergency Services went out Wednesday to assess the damage.
Public Works is currently working on making temporary repairs to open Cal Creek Rd. using County workforce and have a contractor coming in next week for more support. The County hopes to have the road reopened by mid-September.
Bozarth said he was grateful to see the county responding quickly to get the road repaired.
"We were afraid it was going to be closed for months."
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