A Mudslide in Wyoming Deepens Disparities Between Ultra-Wealthy Workers and Locals

The collapse of a vital road that connected workers in Idaho to jobs in Wyoming is bringing new attention to a long-standing schism between the ultra-wealthy and the people who serve them.

Billionaires and investors have been pushing home prices in Jackson, Wyoming, into the stratosphere for years, forcing workers to live further and further away from their jobs.

Already burdened by long commutes, people who work at hospitals, equipment companies and landscaping companies now face an indefinite road closure that is altering their lives but is unlikely to impact their wealthy clients.

What began as a crack in Teton Pass last week turned into a massive landslide that closed a 10-mile stretch of the road that serves as the main gateway between Idaho and Jackson, Wyoming.

Transportation officials said the “catastrophic failure” would take several months to repair. Meanwhile, a two-lane bypass is expected to be completed within weeks, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

The rush comes as peak tourist season begins in the Rocky Mountains, where about 15,000 people are expected to visit the nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks every day.

Closing Teton Pass, even for a few weeks, means cutting off a vital artery for people who live in Idaho but work in Jackson, a mountain and ski paradise that has become a playground for Hollywood celebrities, technology moguls and billionaires who They want to escape the city. life.

“The landslide really shows how unsustainable our community is,” said Jacob Gore, a Wyoming native who lives in Idaho because of rising costs. “I just accepted that I will never own a house in Jackson unless I win the lottery.”

At St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, about 20 percent of health care workers commute from the Teton Valley on the other side of the pass. That includes 115 essential workers who need to be on site every day, according to hospital spokeswoman Karen Connelly.

Many of these workers face 12-hour shifts and cannot accommodate an additional four to six hours per day of driving, Connelly told Teton County commissioners this week during a hearing.

On average, more than 2,500 people commute daily from Idaho to Jackson, which is located in the richest county in the United States, with a median income of more than $108,000, compared to Teton County, Idaho, where income The average is $89,000, according to US Census data.

Home prices between neighboring counties vary exponentially. On the Wyoming side, the median home price is more than $3 million, compared to about $800,000 in Idaho.

The allure of snow-capped mountain peaks and crystal-clear lakes has long attracted homesteaders and business leaders. Tycoons like Ted Turner, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett each own hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the West, and the federal government controls about 50% of the land from Kansas to the Pacific Ocean.

Competition to build, own and rent is fierce in the most desirable areas, including gateway communities to national parks. Demand only increased during the pandemic as remote workers looked to relocate.

“We’re working hard so that billionaires can have beautiful gardens to look at in their vacation homes where they spend a few weeks a year,” said Rory Nelson, who lives in Victor, Idaho, and owns a small landscaping business. in Jackson.

“It’s heartbreaking because this is my home,” he said, adding that he now drives up to six hours a day because of the road closure.

Many people who live in communities like Victor and Driggs in the Teton Valley say they are now forced to choose between spending an entire day in the car or finding temporary housing closer to work.

Gore, an Idaho resident, runs a wildlife tour company and said he woke up to several missed calls from frantic customers and employees as news of the landslide spread. A tour guide, who lives in Driggs, chose to sleep in his car the night before a morning tour rather than wake up at 3 a.m. to pick up his clients in Jackson at 6 a.m.

“If just one of these billionaires wanted to step in and help, our community would change for the better,” he said. “But our workers are not considered until their favorite restaurant closes.”

Since the road closure, John Thomas Smaellie, Driggs construction superintendent, has meandered south along Highway 33 into a neighboring valley and around a lake before turning north toward Jackson.

Although he describes the two- to three-hour commute as “absolutely beautiful,” Smaellie is missing crucial time away from his family. His 7-year-old daughter is the youngest rodeo princess in town and requires hours of rehearsal and preparation before competitions, he said.

On Wednesday night, instead of helping her prepare for the upcoming contest, Smaellie got stuck on the road.

“Is it really worth losing these things in my job?” he asked. “I know they will have a temporary road, but will it last? Emotionally, it’s very tiring to be at work knowing that if I left now, I could get home on time.”

Smaellie, a fifth-generation resident of Driggs, has seen prices soar in his hometown as “billionaires drive millionaires out” of Jackson, a popular refrain among locals.

When he was young, Smaellie’s parents bought a house and other investment properties with public school salaries, he said. Smaellie, however, is forced to rent even when gated communities are built around him.

For its workers, who earn between $60,000 and $70,000 a year, even rent is unaffordable. Six members of his crew share a two-bedroom apartment, he said.

Even so, the idea of ​​moving the family out of the region is incomprehensible.

“I would like my children to see their father’s grave when I pass away,” he said. “I can go see my great-great-grandfather’s grave in Tetonia. That’s where my bitterness comes from.”

Like other regions that cater to luxury resorts, housing affordability in Jackson has been an issue for decades.

In 2020, the municipality set a target of housing 65% of workers within its limits. The county is currently at about 60%, according to Housing Director April Norton.

“There is a recognition that without permanently protecting local workers’ homes, we may be left without them,” she said.

Chase Putnam, owner of a fishing business in Jackson, is opening his eight-person trailer to anyone needing temporary accommodations. He bristled when asked about the affordability crisis and accused county commissioners of not acting quickly enough to secure housing for workers.

“I can barely scrape together two coins and I’m the one who intervenes?” he said.

When asked for comment, the Board of County Commissioners referred questions to the housing authority.

“If there is political will, then there are certainly things to look at,” Norton said of building more workforce housing. “But it all comes down to the politicians, so we’ll see what happens.”

Commissioners on Wednesday approved an ordinance that will temporarily allow camping units and mobile homes in all zones until the road reopens. But since 97% of the surrounding land is owned by the federal government, it will largely fall to private landowners to accommodate people in need.

While any permanent housing solution is still years away, local residents are stepping in to offer immediate help. Melissa Thomasma, who lives in Victor, Idaho, created a Facebook mutual aid group following the landslide.

The nearly 2,000-member account is filled with posts from people offering campers, rides and even audiobook credits for long trips.

“That’s a core value of our community,” she said. “You help when you can.”