Orofino, ID – Motorists planning to travel Morris Creek Road No. 1969 need to find an alternate route from September 1 through October 15, 2010, when the road will be closed to all motorized traffic due to construction work.
According to District Engineer Dave Brady, the Morris Creek deep fill culvert installation project will take place during that period. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the work will include deep excavation in the roadway along with culvert installation and embankment reconstruction.
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The Forest Service has closed the Mt. Loop Scenic Byway between Mt. Pugh trailhead and North Fork Sauk, Forest Road 49, to vehicle traffic Aug. 23-26, and Aug. 30-Sept. 2.
Visitors can access Mt. Pugh trailhead and the White Chuck Overlook from Darrington. Forest Road 49, North Fork Sauk Trail #649, Bedal Campground, Goat Lake trailhead and Barlow Pass will be accessible through Granite Falls.
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Naches, WA – Unusual storm patterns during the winter of 2006 brought a variety of weather conditions ranging from snow, wind and rain to unusually warm conditions across the Cascade Range that caused extensive damage to mountain roads and trails across the Naches Ranger District.
The worst hit was Deep Creek Road or Forest Service Road 1808, and the Bumping River Road or Forest Service Road 1800. Both roads were washed out from high water creating new channels and eroding outlets below culverts to the point critical fish habitat was destroyed, rendering passage to spawning grounds impossible.
The washout has meant only hikers and horseback riders can access the popular Twin Sisters Trailhead at the end of the Deep Creek Road.
The Granite Lake, Swamp Lake and Fish Lake Trailheads along the Bumping River Road are also restricted to foot and horse traffic, and closed to motorized travel.
“This doesn’t mean you can’t hike, ride a mountain bike or go in on horseback,” said Visitor Services Information Assistant Doug Jenkins. “Those opportunities are still open. The problems we are dealing with regarding this closure are motorized users disregarding the closure, signs being torn down and gates being ripped up, which creates a problem for everyone working on this project.”
Read more at Deep Creek and Bumping River Roads Status
Orofino, ID – Motorists should be aware of logging traffic on several Clearwater National Forest roads.
According to Timber Contracting Officer Mark Craig, activities are gearing up on the Palouse Ranger District’s Gold Bug Timber Sale. That project is located approximately five miles northeast of Potlatch, Idaho.
Read more at Logging activity prevalent on some Forest roads
Orofino, ID – Road improvement work will result in the closure of Pete King Creek Road No. 453 beginning Monday, August 16. The work is expected to take roughly five weeks to complete.
According to Clearwater National Forest Civil Engineer Lynelle Morelan, crews will be installing cross drain culverts and resurfacing the road from milepost 0, at the road?s junction with U.S. Highway 12 near Lowell, to milepost 1.6.
Read more at Pete King Creek Road to close in mid August
Naches/Cle Elum, WA – Campfire bans will go into effect on Tuesday morning at 1201 a.m., August 3rd in the Naches and Cle Elum Ranger Districts. Effective August 3rd, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, briquette fire, or other method except a pressurized liquid gas stove are prohibited.
Increased fire hazard caused by continuing hot and dry weather conditions have prompted the Forest Service to implement campfire restrictions outside legislated Wilderness areas.
Read more at Campfire Restrictions Expanded to Cle Elum and Naches Ranger Districts
Leavenworth, WA – An early morning lightning storm passed through the Wenatchee Valley Friday, leaving a trail of small spot fires on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
Two new fires were confirmed near the Tronsen Ridge/Sheep Rock area. Both fires are an acre in size, with rappelers and smokejumpers responding to the fires located in remote, steep terrain.
Crews continue to search for smokes from today?s storm. Scattered thunderstorms are expected to continue for the next several days, as a weak cold front moves through the area. Heavy rains are expected to accompany the storms.
One of the largest fires in the Wenatchee Valley is the Devils Gulch Fire, located six miles southwest of Wenatchee and is 35 acres in size. Friday was the first day that firefighter crews were able to begin the arduous task of constructing fire line in this steep and heavily timbered area. Three helicopters dropped water on the fire Friday.
Because of public and firefighter safety concerns and threat of fire in the area, people are asked to avoid using roads and trails in the following areas:
Read more at Fire Weather Outlook Continues to Challenge Firefighters
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beehive reservoir, cashmere, chelan county, devils gulch, leavenworth, liberty-beehive road, mission creek, nahahum canyon, okanogan-wenatchee national forest, outdoors, recreation, sand creek, sheep rock, tronsen ridge, wa, washington, wenatchee, yaksum canyon
Orofino, ID – The Clearwater National Forest?s North Fork Ranger District will conduct prescribed burning operations during the months of August and September.
According to District Ranger Doug Gober, prescribed fire will be used to treat hazardous fuels in the Long Creek drainage The drainage is located 25 miles southwest of Superior, Montana, east of Hoodoo Pass and along Pollock Ridge, approximately 15 miles east northeast of Kelly Forks Work Center.
Burning operations will occur off of the State Line Trail east and west of Hoodoo Pass and along Pierce-Superior Road 250 for the Long Creek Fuels Project, and along Pollock Ridge for the Pollock Fuels Project. There may be temporary road and trail closures or delays associated with the projects.
Read more at Forest Service plans prescribed burning near Hoodoo Pass and Pollock Ridge
Approximately 33 fires resulted from the lightning storm that passed over the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Wednesday. Most of these fires ranged in size from 50 feet by 50 feet to about five acres; these small fires have been staffed and most have fire lines constructed around them.
There are two larger fires that resulted from the lightning. The Devils Gulch Fire is located about six miles southwest of Wenatchee and is 40 to 60 acres in size. Forest Service Road No. 9712, in the vicinity of the fire, is closed to public access. Firefighters will be constructing fire line and helicopters will be dropping water on the fire on Friday.
The Tripp Fire, burning on state protected lands three miles southwest of Cashmere in the Tripp Canyon area, is about 70 acres in size. Smoke from this fire is visible to Cashmere area residents. Helicopters and air tankers dropped water and retardant on the fire late Thursday afternoon to slow the fire?s spread. Fire crews will continue to construct fire line around the fire today.
Read more at Many Fires with More Lightning on the Way (Washington)
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Access
Tags:
cashmere, chelan county, devils gulch, lake chelan, okanogan-wenatchee national forest, outdoors, rainbow creek, recreation, stehekin, tripp canyon, washington, wenatchee
BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!
When Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch introduced Congressman Mike Simpson’s Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA) in the Senate, the Idaho Recreation Coalition (IRC) redoubled their efforts to oppose this lousy bill. We at BRC feel privileged to assist folks like Sandra Mitchell and others in efforts to convince both Senators that CEIDRA is BAD for recreation.
These lands are ALREADY PROTECTED. The only “protection” CEIDRA offers is to eliminate mountain bike , OHV and snowmobile use.
Thanks in large part to individual OHV users, who took time from work and family to call, write and email Idaho’s Congressional delegation, our Senators are starting to listen:
Read more at ISSA AND IRC needs our help!
