Riverside State Park’s Bowl and Pitcher area heavily marked, scorched by Old Trails fire

The trees and trails near Riverside State Park’s Bowl and Pitcher – usually teeming with wildlife, hikers, bikers and fishers – burned in Saturday’s Old Trails fire, with hot spots still smoking Monday morning.

While trails were still defined, land on both sides of the river was affected. The ground north and east of the swinging bridge at Bowl and Pitcher was blackened, but the bridge remained intact.

Trails bordering the river, including trail Nos. 210, 211, 212 and 25 (the longest loop in the park), are burnt. Trees surrounding Trail 25 were torched, too.

Deer stared blankly ahead as they stood among the smoking remains of the park.

Looking over Indian Bluff Road, acres of blackened park land sat under heavy smoke Monday afternoon on the west side of the river.

From the fire-affected Centennial Trail, Riverside State Park spokesperson Rex Schultz said though the fire is no longer raging or advancing rapidly, he could still see hot spots popping up throughout the area.

While he knows many people are worried about Spokane’s beloved park, Schultz reminded users the active fire area is “not really ready to have them yet.”

In order for the park to conduct their assessments of the damage and make a plan moving forward, people need to stay out, he said. The park won’t be able to start the recovery process until the burn area has cooled off.

“The forest has incredible recuperative powers,” Schultz said. “I think people will be surprised how it bounces back.”

The Old Trails fire that marked the park led to the loss of more than 700 structures, according to a Monday news conference led by Mayor Lisa Brown. The fire was one of three blazes in the Spokane Complex fire.

Aubrey White Parkway, which winds along the Spokane River heading into Riverside State Park, usually with breathtaking views of the river and surrounding hills, was lined with fallen, scorched trees that were weakened by the fire.

Schultz said fire has been part of the area’s environment for a while, so he feels strongly the park will be able to rebuild.

“The life cycle of a park is a lot bigger than the life cycle of people,” Schultz said. “And it will recover.”