Fire Updates and Impacts
In a previous post a description of the fires plaguing the western U.S. right now was laid out. How the fire closures are impacting the PCT was also described. That prior post spoke of the Easy Fire near Rainy Pass. It is not being easy at all but takes its name from nearby Easy Pass. In what is described as steep terrain a fire line as been established on the south/east side of Washington State Highway 20 otherwise known as the North Cross Highway. The hope that this firebreak will slow the advance of the fire is what fire bosses are betting on. Firefighters are currently hiking over 3,400 feet of elevation gain to access areas of the Easy Fire and establish helicopter landing pads.
Meanwhile another even bigger fire is threatening the PCT along the shores of Lake Chelan and the popular PCT resupply point in the village of Stehekin that is only accessible by foot, boat, or floatplane. This fire is dubbed the Pioneer Fire. A short change in the weather helped firefighters at both the Easy and Pioneer Fires with a little light rain and temporarily cooler temperatures. The Pioneer Fire has so far devoured just over 33,000 acres according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Compared to the apparently human caused Park Fire in California this seems so much smaller but no less significant. The hot and dry conditions will return to the western U.S. over the course of the next several days. How this affects fire behavior is fairly predictable in that more acres will go up in flames due to lower humidity and higher temperatures. The temporary break in the weather has helped firefighters on the Easy and Piorneer Fires a short but important opportunity to strengthen fire lines and take down snags and clear easily ignitable undergrowth.
What this all means to hikers walking the PCT is difficult to determine. With a variety of closures in all three states the PCT stretches through people are forced to be creative as well as prudent in their pursuit of thru hiking this season. As in years passed hikers are forced to 'leapfrog' portions of the trail in order to continue to make any kind of progress while staying safe and achieve their PCT completion goal. For places like Stehekin (near High Bridge Camp) and Rainy Pass (along Highway 20) the impact of the trail closures may be somewhat diminished as hikers don't typically get to northwest Washington until mid August and through September. Only time and weather conditions will tell.
Aerial picture of the Pioneer Fire near Stehekin
We will continue to monitor these fires and many of the others threatening the Pacific Crest Trail. Fires have always been a factor when considering a hike on the PCT but this factor has grown exponentially over the past fifteen years or so. Part of anyone's PCT hiking experience nowadays includes walking through long gray stretches of burned out forests. For me hiking through some of these areas was when I fully comprehended the scope of these fires that seem to break out every year. My appreciation for the work of the firefighters who work so hard to control and contain these natural and not so natural disasters also have found new clarity for me. These are the heroes and heroines of the drama we are witnessing every summer and autumn throughout the west and specifically up and down the PCT.
View from the Stehekin ferry landing of the encroaching Pioneer Fire