Friday, September 14, 2007

Many trails still closed in Castle Rock Fire area

Forest Service officials considering which backcountry paths they can safely reopen


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

Express photo by Jason Kauffman On Thursday, these two U.S. government trucks with trailers were all that remained of the formerly massive Castle Rock Fire incident command center that stood on the upper parking lot above the River Run Lodge.

Sawtooth National Forest officials continue to consider what trails they can safely reopen to the public in the wake of the 48,520-acre Castle Rock Fire.

Popular spots that still remain closed to public recreational use include trails in the vicinity of Bald Mountain, trails originating in the Warm Springs Creek drainage southwest of Ketchum, as well as trails in the Greenhorn Gulch, Adams Gulch, Eve Gulch, Fox Creek, Griffin Butte and Chocolate Gulch areas. Trails south of Oregon Gulch and north of Deer Creek also remain closed to public recreational use.

However, the main trails running up Deer Creek and Oregon Gulch are open for public use.

Sawtooth National Forest officials are taking a cautious approach to reopening trails, Sawtooth National Recreation Area Public Information Officer Ed Cannady said. He said they're considering trails on an individual basis to determine if it's appropriate to open them back up.

Especially in timbered areas through which trails pass, an extensive process of cutting out dangerous snags and downed trees may need to take place, Cannady said.

He said some trails may be reopened soon once the forest's recreation staff members have had a chance to get a close look at them. He said that on the 2005 Valley Road Fire in the White Cloud Mountains near Stanley, recreationists detoured around fallen trees onto previously unharmed areas after officials reopened trails without cutting those trees out first.

Local forest officials won't do the same thing this time, Cannady said.

"They're going to be smart about it," he said.

The existing public lands closure area, which Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Jane Kollmeyer approved Sept. 7, extends from the south side of Oregon Gulch south to the north side of Deer Creek. The closure area further extends from state Highway 75 west to a line running along the East Fork of Baker Creek, from Fox Peak south along Rooks Creek, west along Warm Springs Road, south along the South Fork of Warm Springs Creek and around the west side of Poison Flat to Deer Creek.

At 7 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, fire officials with the Type 2 incident management team overseeing activities on the Castle Rock Fire turned management authority over to a Type 3 incident management team. The new team is comprised of fire managers hailing from the Sawtooth National Forest as well as other public agencies in the Great Basin region, Fire Information Officer Dick Birger said.

Birger, who is part of the departing Type 2 team, said 75 to 100 firefighters remain assigned to the Castle Rock Fire. He said those firefighters are primarily conducting post-fire cleanup and rehabilitation work.

"It's pretty much a patrol and mop-up effort," Birger said.

Fire officials declared the Castle Rock Fire 100 percent contained on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Birger said once officials with the Sawtooth National Forest's Ketchum Ranger District feel comfortable enough, they'll take back oversight of the fire.

"I would guess that wouldn't be too long," he said.

Birger said that in recent days, fire activity within the controlled perimeter of the fire has been fairly light. Still, he said that a steady drying trend that the area experienced this week means the potential for interior burning on the blaze remains significant.

"There's still a lot of heat in the area," he said.

Birger reemphasized that local residents will continue to see smoke and some flare-ups within fire lines for some time.

"It's all going to be well inside the fire perimeter," he said.

Birger said that for the Type 2 team he's a part of, the Castle Rock Fire has been unusual in at least one way. Not all communities welcome firefighters with such open arms as have local residents in the Wood River Valley, he said.

"We try to point out to them that not everywhere in the West are we treated quite so well," Birger said. "We really do appreciate working with this community."




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