Forest service working on new Alpine fire station

If you happened to have driven into the Turtle Rock complex off Highway 89 in Alpine County within the last several months, you might have noticed there is some kind of construction project going on there. So what is it? Well I'm going to tell you. Bear with me, though, there's a long history behind this project.

In 1933, the U.S. Forest Service purchased a piece of ground along Markleeville Creek in Markleeville from Alpine County upon which was built the Markleeville Ranger Station, headquarters for the district ranger. This was the third ranger station built in the Markleeville area, the first two thought to be too distant or too small to meet the needs. This third station, a big upgrade, consisted of a couple of residences, garage, warehouse, office, and some outbuildings. In 1937, a major flood inundated the station. Other floods in 1950, 1953, and 1963 did the same. No doubt there were some regrets about picking that location for a ranger station.

More recently, the flood of 1997 did it again. Okay, that was enough. Something had to be done.

Beginning in 2003, under the leadership of Leonard Turnbeaugh, former Alpine County director of public works, and Herman Zellmer, member of the board of supervisors, with able assistance from Assistant to the Board Judy Molnar, the county committed to working in close coordination with the Forest Service people in Carson City and Reno to replace the station. It took a while to get the attention of the forest service's regional office in Ogden, Utah, to give the project some priority and even longer to find the funds. No doubt replacing the station wasn't a high priority because the ranger headquarters had been moved to Minden in 1939 and the Markleeville Station was downgraded to a guard station, though it remained of considerable importance to people in the area. The current station is a base for two engines and their crews, a warehouse and shop for storage and maintenance of fire fighting gear, and the local point of contact with the forest service.

Turtle Rock Park was selected as the best place to locate the new station. One problem was that there was no national forest land there. The county owned the preferred site, having long ago acquired it from the Bureau of Land Management, another federal agency. So the county gave some of its land back to the BLM which in turn transferred it to the forest service. That process was a bit complicated, but it happened and the funds became available, too.

Design of the station commenced, and last summer a contract was let by the forest supervisor in Reno for the first two phases. These phases consist of a 10 person barracks, an access road, electrical supply, a sewage disposal system, and a water supply system that utilizes the well and storage tank built by the county some years ago.

Today, under a blanket of snow, one can see the beginning of the building foundation. A third phase, to follow the completion of the barracks this spring, will be a building for offices, shops, warehousing, and engine bays.

The chosen site is high and dry and enjoys an outstanding view of the forest and the nearby mountains. According to Charley Dobson, the assistant fire management officer of this area of the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forests, his people are excited at the prospect of working out of a modern facility, where the bays are large enough for their engines (the current garage is not big enough), crew quarters will be comfortable, and stories of flooded stations will be for the history books.

And what's to be done with the current station? The county intends to get the property back after the forest service cleans up the site, and then it will take the lead in restoring the streamsides of Markleeville Creek to a more natural condition. Some of property could be used for public parking during the summer.

The story of forest service stations in Alpine County continues with the new station at Turtle Rock Park. Those involved in making this new station happen can be justifiably proud of themselves and the cooperation that has made it happen.

n Bill Morgan is a resident of Markleeville.