Tulare County tourism industry feeling the financial impact of Highway 190 closure

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Residents of Camp Nelson and the surrounding areas filled the local fire department Tuesday.

On the agenda was a discussion of the possible opening of Highway 190 from Springville to Camp Nelson.

But roads that suffered major damage from the winter storms are still breaking away from the hillsides.

The dangers have kept part of Highway 190, which leads to Sequoia National Park- closed to the public since the beginning of the year.

"There are a lot of washed-out areas a lot of cracks a lot of places where the road has fallen off and they haven't figured out yet exactly how they're going to fix it so I'm sorry for the people that really feel this is an inconvenience I'm sorry for the businesses but they have to consider safety I think that's the key word safety," says Cyndi Teller, a longtime Camp Nelson Resident.

Deandra and Ken King own a cabin at Camp Nelson, "We really haven't been able to use it because like I said the snow swept our vents off the roof and we are waiting for our one contractor to get up here to get to us and fix it for us so we can use the hot water heater."

The highway closure has also been taking a financial toll on some businesses including vacation home rentals that are sitting empty.

And the impact goes beyond the homeowners.

"All the other people that work from those businesses, that work for those businesses and you have the housekeepers and handymen and anybody that derives their income," says Fred Rhoges who owns a vacation home rental at Lower Pierpoint.

During this public meeting, Caltrans spoke about the progress so far and the effort to find long-term solutions.

Christian Lukens, a Caltrans District 6 spokesperson explained, "It is something that we have been discussing as Caltrans internally is how to get traffic control open so everyone can have that access return. we're at a period now where there are a few operations that will finish in the next few weeks that will allow traffic control to open we're hoping to find the best solution for the community in business today where that can work for everybody."

The department says the highway to Camp Nelson could possibly open by the fall before more wet weather may threaten the area again.

There is a chance a pilot car will escort visitors in and out of the area throughout the day, but for now, the area remains closed off to the public and only accessible to its residents.

For news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.