After heavy Memorial Day rain caused damage to parts of the White Pine Trail, a fence is now up to keep people off the trail between Belmont and House Street in Rockford.

“You should not be using that section of trail at all until the fence is removed so please plan accordingly,” said Dave Heyboer, of Friends of the White Pine Trail.

Heyboer announced last week that three washouts and a major mudslide completely blocked the trail, and a whole section of a hill slid down and covered the trail. One of the washouts caused a section of the trail to drop away, causing an unstable foundation. Although warnings went out to trail users, people were still trying to get in and see the damage.

Heyboer noted that Larry Solce, manager of the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail state park, had seen the area and said that the damaged area is being studied and evaluated for an appropriate repair. “This will be a time consuming project and it will be repaired as soon as possible,” said Heyboer.