POINT LOBOS — Days after closing due to powerful storms that brought strong winds and heavy rain to the region, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve reopened Tuesday.

In addition to dozens of downed trees strewn throughout the park, the storms knocked out power to the park and damaged a water system for one of the restrooms.

“What happened was when the trees came down or the roots came up, some of our infrastructure like some of our water lines or utilities were compromised,” said Brent Marshall, the Monterey District superintendent for California State Parks.

A total of 94 downed trees were removed from roads and trails since the storms first hit, a number that doesn’t include fallen trees off the beaten paths.

“The (State Parks Monterey District) trails crew comes in here and makes it accessible, so we feel it’s safe for the public to enter,” said Patrick Bauers, a park maintenance supervisor with State Parks. “The resources department dictates what’s going to be left for habitat and what’s going to be removed.”

Bauers pointed out many large pine trees in the park that fell during the recent storms and showed the remains of others on either side of the road after the middle had been cut and removed. Some trees fell into other trees, which now prop them up above the ground causing trail closures for public safety.

“We have a high water table here and a lot of these trees are stretching for sun so they get vertically tall and their roots are very shallow,” Bauers said. “So in these high-wind events and high-rain events we are prone to uprooting and losing trees.”

Pools of water were visible in some of the holes left from uprooted trees.

A majority of the damage came from downed trees. Some facilities saw minor damage and the restroom along the road near the entrance to the park remains closed. The line providing power to the park was damaged and equipment needed to be replaced, leaving the power out from Thursday through Sunday.

The roads in Point Lobos saw only minor damage from the storms.

“It was only the accessibility through them” due to downed trees and standing water, Bauers said.

Bauers praised the collaboration between different segments of State Parks as well as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and its local contractors to help get Point Lobos ready to open

“It looked like Armageddon in here (Thursday),” he said.

Many people visited Point Lobos on Tuesday morning before it reopened, hoping to get a hike in before noon. Bauers advised visitors to be cautious at the park in coming days as crews continue to clear out trees.

“The No. 1 thing that we’re looking out for is that visitors stay aware and they stay on the designated roads, trails and paths,” he said. “A lot of the areas that aren’t designated roads or paths have been impacted and we haven’t been able to get into those areas. There are still trees that could be an issue.”