Fire-related closures affect winter recreation

The 2015 wildfires that scorched the region are long gone, but fire-related closures are still in effect, even for winter recreation.

Deer Creek-Boulder Summit between Curlew and Orient, Washington, is missing this season from the list of plowed road passes and Sno-Park areas open to winter backcountry recreation.

The eerie black forest of snags left by summer fires is prone to downfall, said Franklin Pemberton, Colville National Forest spokesman.

“We haven’t been able to deal with the hazard there, yet,” he said.

Vast areas of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest scorched by the North Star and Okanogan Complex fires also closed, although they don’t include popular winter recreation sites, said Kathy Dowd, forest spokeswoman.

Notable exceptions are portions of the Duncan and Wolverine fire closures that have been opened for winter recreation including snowmobiling, but will be closed again in spring.

“In those cases, the closures aren’t related to hazard trees in burned areas, but rather for debris flows and flooding. So we can open them in winter until the snowpack recedes.”

All of the forests post notices of fire closures on their websites.