The Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog: Storms Impacts Being Assessed in Cherokee National Forest

USDA Forest Service officials at the Cherokee National Forest say National Forest System Roads (NFSR) were heavily impacted by recent severe storms. Crews continue to assess the widespread impacts.

Many NFSR’s throughout the 656,000 acre Cherokee National Forest were impacted in some way by severe weather. The Ocoee Ranger District and the Tellico Ranger District were the hardest hit. The impact of the storms has left numerous roads in these areas impassable with trees down, washouts and culverts damaged.

A number of National Forest System Roads are being closed for public safety. Assessments to date for the Ocoee and Tellico Ranger districts indicate at least 65 roads are affected with 343 damaged sites including 89 downed trees, 102 damaged culverts and 19 landslides. Currently only a portion of the roads have been assessed and more damage may be possible.

To address the situation, the Forest Service continues to conduct condition assessments and document all road damage, close roads that are not safe to drive on and continue to work on opening roads where possible.

If you must travel national forest roads extreme caution should be used. Many roads are rutted and may have been narrowed due to slides and slough offs. In addition, the risk of falling trees due to the wet conditions still exists.

Additional information regarding road conditions and closures will be made available when more assessments are completed.