Peninsula Daily News
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Diminishing wildfires on the east side of the national park have allowed rangers to reopen about 30 miles of trails.
In addition, the park’s backcountry campfire ban will be lifted Wednesday night, a park spokeswoman said Monday evening.
Most of the Heatwave Complex fires started in June and July from lightning and were aided by hot temperatures in mountains of East Jefferson County.
They’ve simmered down and present little hazard to the following trails, which have been reopened:
• The Constance Pass Trail from the Dosewallips Trail to the park boundary,
• The Main Fork Dosewallips Trail from the junction of Gray Wolf Pass to Dose Forks.
• The West Fork Dosewallips Trail from Honeymoon Meadows to Dose Forks.
Two trails are still closed because of fire-related hazards and are likely to remain closed for several weeks longer.
They are:
• The Duckabush Trail from LaCrosse Pass junction to the park’s eastern boundary because of its proximity to the 750-acre Ten Mile Fire.
• Dosewallips Road — already limited to hikers because of an earlier washout — is closed from the Olympic National Forest’s Elkhorn Campground to the Dosewallips Trail at Dose Forks, one mile west of the Dosewallips Ranger Station.
The 440-acre Constance Fire is nearby in steep terrain, and burning logs and debris are rolling downslope onto the road, the park spokeswoman said.
Ban to be lifted
Olympic National Park’s backcountry campfire ban, established Aug. 3, will be lifted Wednesday at 11 p.m.
“Fire danger conditions have abated thanks to recent rains, and the forecast calls for cooler, moist conditions,” a statement from Olympic National Park said.
Campfires in the park’s established front-country campgrounds are allowed as usual in established fire grates.
Campers still need to ensure that their campfires are out before leaving the campsite.
The Heatwave Complex is 12 lighting-ignited fires discovered in Olympic National Park since June, five of which remain active.
For more information about wilderness use permits in Olympic National Park, phone the park’s Wilderness Information Center at 360-565-3100.
For general trip planning information, visitors should consult the park’s Web site at www.nps.gov/olym or phone 360-565-3130.
For additional Heatwave Complex fire information, maps, and photos, visit http://www.inciweb.org.
