For the first time in four years, there are no constructions projects at Saxon Harbor in Iron County.
The harbor and the surrounding area has been under construction since a severe storm in 2016 wiped out the slips, the campground and the many of the roads in the region.
Iron County Forest Administrator Eric Peterson is happy not hear construction at Saxon Harbor anymore.
“It’s nice to see people down there steady again rather than just construction,” said Peterson.
The 2016 storm dumped more than nine inches of rain in Saxon.
It wiped out the 91-slip marina, including many of the ships docked there at the time. It took out the boat
launches and the 33-site campground. County road A and the nearby bridge were also taken out.
Over the last four years, the marina was re-dredge, 81 new slips were built, and the road and bridge repaired.
“It’s been a long road to recovery,” said Peterson.
The campground was the last piece to the puzzle as Peterson puts it.
The county ended up having to rebuild it on higher ground.
“The campground couldn’t be, due to state regulations, could not be reconstructed in its original location because of flood plain designation. So the campground was relocated higher up the hill,” said Peterson. “It had to shrink in size a little bit because of that. But is now well out of any danger of washing away from a flood.”
The 2016 storm was classified as a 1,000 to 1,500-year storm.
Peterson says it’s not cost effective to rebuild in preparation of something of that magnitude, but the county did take precautionary measures in the rebuilding of the marina.
“Things were built to handle 100 plus year flooding events and we’ve seen a couple of those since those storm events, that kind of rain in a short period of time. And everything has functioned as it’s been designed and has held up quite well,” said Peterson.
It cost $14.2 million to rebuild the entire marina.
Most of it was paid through multiple funding sources with Iron County having to pay about $2 million out of pocket.
The campground is taking reservations now. You can book them online on the Iron County Forestry and Parks website.
