LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The snowstorms in late February and early March caused road damage all around Lake County and have led to a long-term closure of Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake.

The Mendocino National Forest reported that the road, also known as Forest Road M1 above Upper Lake, was severely impacted by the storms.

As a result, Elk Mountain Road was closed on March 1, leaving only one access point to Lake Pillsbury from Potter Valley.

The Lake County Public Works Department reported on its Facebook page on March 1 that the United States Forest Service closed the road at the conservation camp, while the Mendocino National Forest reported that the county had closed the road above the Middle Creek Campground.

The day after it was closed, Public Works crews began the work to open access from the Potter Valley side to Soda Creek Store.

On March 12, the agency’s Facebook page reported that Elk Mountain Road remained closed from the conservation camp to Lower Deer Valley, and that the roadway wasn’t safe.

A section of the road with a large area of dirt and rock was described as “quickly turning to the consistency of chocolate pudding. With all this moisture it's not a matter of if it will slide, but when. Please, do not tempt fate. You can access the Lake Pillsbury area on the Potter Valley side,” wrote Lori Price, the page’s administrator.

Crews were able to clear a path from the Lake County line on the Potter Valley side to the Soda Creek store, with four-wheel-drive and chains required, Public Works reported.

However, Price wrote that the closure will be long term on the Upper Lake side due to a large slide and roadway slipout.

Public Works Director Scott De Leon told Lake County News on Tuesday that the effort to get the road repaired and reopened is underway, but will take time.

He said the project will be submitted to Caltrans for Emergency Relief Funds, with initial estimates of $3 million to complete the repairs.

“We’re looking at construction this summer at the earliest, as we’ll need to bring in geotechnical engineers to perform investigations of the slide to determine the most appropriate repair strategy and an engineering consulting firm to prepare plans and specifications for construction,” De Leon said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.