Some local trails feel the burn

Be aware of wild re-related closures

BY SANDRA STRIEBY

Last summer, the Cedar Creek and Cub Creek 2 fires burned over 125,000 acres in the Methow Valley, affecting miles of trails and several popular camping areas. Repairs will get underway this summer, and trails may re-open as the season progresses.

Until then, trail users can limit risk to themselves and the environment by avoiding closed trails and taking precautions when moving through burned areas.

Current trail closures include Cedar Creek, Wolf Creek, Falls Creek (including Falls Creek Falls), Eightmile Ridge, First Butte, and several Sun Mountain trails. Dispersed recreation areas from Falls Creek to Camp 4 are closed, as are some roads and campgrounds. The U.S. Forest Service closure orders will expire on June 1, and Methow Valley Ranger District (MVRD) staff and their trail management partners will evaluate conditions, and make plans for repairs and re-opening, as the snow melts.

Trails have been closed both to protect people and to prevent further damage to the trails themselves and the environment through which they run. Fire disrupts ecosystems in obvious and not-so-obvious ways, and using trails before they’re ready can cause more — sometimes long-lasting — harm.

Hazards to forest visitors include falling trees, rolling rocks, unstable ground, flash floods, debris flows and more. Roads may be blocked by trees, water or debris, and those blockages may cut off exit routes. Stream-crossing structures may be undermined or become clogged, which can affect your ability to continue, or return, along the trail you’ve been traveling. Even trees that look stable may fall, especially when it’s windy or when wet weather has destabilized soil.

Awareness and avoidance of potential hazards are your best tools for safe trail use. “That’s the primary concern … How do we keep the public safe?” said James DeSalvo, executive director of Methow Trails. On open trails, watch for trail safety signs and take proper precautions. Know that rainfall higher in the drainage can lead to increased runoff outside the area that’s getting wet, and that runoff can move soil and rocks into and across your path.

MVRD District Ranger Chris Furr offers additional safety advice: Avoid areas that have been severely burned when weather threatens, and don’t loiter in any burned areas. Carry a saw or axe. Do not try to cross an active mud or debris flow. Comply with area closure restrictions. Let someone know your plans.

■ OTHER EFFECTS

Harder to fathom than hazards can be the effects of trail use on burned soils and other components of trail-side ecosystems.

“The Cedar Creek fire at Sun Mountain actually burned in a pretty healthy way,” said Joe Brown, who wears multiple hats — he’s the president of the Methow Chapter of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (EMBA) and co-owner of Methow Cycle & Sport, and, like DeSalvo, a member of the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative.

The soil damage seems to be less than expected — that’s another thing that won’t be fully understood until later in the season.

In spite of that relatively good prognosis, most of the area around the Chickadee parking lot exhibits increased runoff potential, as does much of the land affected by the Cub Creek 2 fire. Until the trails have been repaired, use is likely to increase erosion and contribute to greater hazards from runoff and debris movement. That can lead to more flooding, debris flows, clogged culverts, and damage to bridges and other stream-crossing structures.

When silt and debris reach streams, they can also endanger fish. Even streams that don’t support fish themselves drain to larger water bodies that are critical to salmon, steelhead and other important fish and wildlife species. Ongoing disturbance can inhibit the recovery of native plants, and

Photo by Ashley Lodato

Current trail recommendations

• Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance — www.facebook.com/ methowevergreenmtb. • Methow Cycle and Sport — www.methowcyclesport.com; (509) 996-3645. • Methow Trails — www. methowtrails.org; (509) 996-3287. • Methow Valley Range District — (509) 996-4000.

increase weed infestation along and beyond trails.

Trail repair can redirect water, reducing erosion that could further damage trails as well as affect land, streams, and structures downstream. “We have over 40 structures; those could be impacted significantly if the wrong thing happens — a lot of water or warm temperatures that melt snow,” said DeSalvo.

■ REPAIR PLANS

The EMBA will work with the MVRD to assess conditions, mitigate hazards and protect resources “as soon as snowmelt allows boots and eyes on the ground,” Brown said. Where feasible, they will make repairs. Some of the mitigation and repair work will require certified professional staff, said Brown; there will also be opportunities for volunteers to participate, which may speed re-opening. Just because trails are closed in spring and early summer, “that doesn’t mean they’re closed for the season,” he said.

One place where repairs are already planned is Buck Mountain, where an area taken out for fire line will be restored. The trail remains ridable, said DeSalvo, and passing cyclists who want to “can jump in and help” with the restoration work.

Asked about alternatives to closed trails, Brown and DeSalvo both noted, with regret, that there’s no place like Sun Mountain in terms of diversity of trails and user experiences. “The beauty about Sun Mountain and the trail network is a high concentration of a diversity of trails for different skills, abilities, and riding types. There’s nothing else like that in the valley,” said DeSalvo.

Methow Trails, EMBA and the MVRD will all be able to offer current recommendations. Buck Mountain, the Twisp River Trail, and the Tripod area are all likely to see more use this summer, said Brown — and, providentially, EMBA has already secured funding for maintenance work on trails in those areas this year. DeSalvo suggested Lewis Butte and Riser Lake as other places to check out. Furr recommended visiting trails farther up the Chewuch, such as Lake Creek and Andrews Creek.

WINTHROP

Mazama

20

Winthrop

Cedar Creek

Twisp

URLs to download PDF maps of the affected areas. Cub Creek2: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ photos/WAOWF/2021-0716-2220-Cub-Creek-Fire/ picts/2021_12_01-16.26.23.571CST.pdf Cedar Creek: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/WAOWF/2021-07-12-1429Varden-Fire/picts/2021_12_0116.16.14.770-CST.pdf

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