The firefighters memorial at the Kings Canyon/Waterfall Trailhead.
A ceremony is planned Wednesday morning to open the new Kings Canyon/Waterfall Trailhead officially, according to Parks and Recreation Department Director Roger Moellendorf.
Moellendorf said the celebratory ceremony is due to a trail and trailhead that can be credited to the work of various individuals and organizations. The trailhead is located at the western end of Kings Street and the new facility on city open space and U.S. Forest Service land are for various outdoors activities. Moellendorf said a different trail than the old one was done due to former use causing ecological problems.
“It was very difficult to navigate,” he said of the older trail.
Moellendorf credited J.P. and Dion Copolous, as well as Mark Kimbrough, as individuals involved in the project, along with his department, the city Public Works Department, the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP), the forest service, the Great Basin Institute, Americorps and others for their involvement in the collaborative effort.
Speaking at the cremony will be Mayor Robert Crowell and other city officials, as well as Scott Rasmussen of the Nevada Division of Forestry and Kim Borgzinner of NDEP. Wednesday’s ceremony is to start at 8:30 a.m.
There are two kiosks at the trailhead. A refurbished Fallen Firefighter Memorial at the trailhead honors three firefighters who lost their lives in the 1976 King Fire: Kenneth Carvin and Jon Ivins of the Nevada Division of Forestry, and James Davidson, a pilot with Arizona Helicopters. Their helicopter crashed, not far from where the trailhead site is now located, on July 5, 1976.
Funding for the memorial was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service State Fire Assistance Program in cooperation with the Nevada Division of Forestry.
Use of the trail in the vicinity up to a waterfall area has increased and in recent years the trail was altered and upgraded to incorporate erosion control so North Kings Creek is protected. Moellendorf said the creek is important to Carson City’s drinking water supply.