113-year-old tower in Death Valley National Park brought down by traveler trying to dig vehicle out of mud

A historic wooden tower was inadvertently brought down by a traveler who was using it to winch a vehicle stuck in mud in California’s Death Valley National Park., » Federal officials said.

The traveler recently came forward but will not be identified, the National Park Service said in a statement Thursday. It is unclear whether any action will be taken against them.

The concrete foundations of the 113-year-old tower were freed from their ties to the desert floor of Saline Valley, about 150 miles west of Las Vegas, on April 19, the park service said .

Saline Valley Salt Tram Tower No. 1 has hit the ground, mostly intact, a park service photo shows.

The person eventually called a park service tip line set up to shed light on the incident and took responsibility. They had used the tower to anchor a winch in “desperation” while a vehicle was “deeply stuck in the mud” not far from a marked roadway, in the words of the park service press release.

“It was not their intention to harm the historic structure,” the agency said.

The tramway included 20 original support towers that facilitated its 13.4-mile span from Saline Valley south to Owens Valley. Built by the Saline Valley Salt Company from 1911 to 1913, the tramway climbed 7,600 feet to overcome the Inyo Mountains, according to the park service.

The cost of construction — about $9.5 million in today’s dollars — nearly sank the company, which eventually leased it to another salt processor, the park service said. It transported salt until 1930, according to the park service.

The streetcar’s 1974 listing on the National Register of Historic Places declared it to be “the steepest streetcar in the United States” and “one of the most picturesque, historic, best preserved, ancient and greatest of its kind.

The tram’s four northernmost towers, including No. 1, are in Death Valley National Park. In a 2021 report on the structure, the park service said No. 1’s concrete footings had “deteriorated beyond repair” and needed to be replaced.

The park service said a “stabilization project” of the four towers was planned before the incident, but it was unclear whether its funding could be used to repair Tower No. 1.

“The park resource management team is working on a comprehensive assessment of the damage and developing plans for responsible restoration of the salt tram,” the park service said.