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Bybee fire use update

National Park Service Digest

August 3, 2006

By National Park Service

Due to the Bybee Wildland Fire Use Fire growing slower than anticipated, the Lightning Springs campsites will reopen today at noon. The Lightning Springs Trail below the campsites to the Pacific Crest Trail remains closed. The campsites may close on short notice should fire conditions change.

The temporary closure is still in effect for the Pacific Crest Trail, from the junction with the Dutton Creek Trail to the junction with the Bald Crater Loop Trail. The park continues to monitor the fire and will reopen the trails as soon as it is safe to do so.

Hikers are advised to use the Rim Trail as an alternate route through the park. This route is regularly used by Pacific Crest Trail hikers for the excellent views of Crater Lake.

Stock users should be prepared to trailer stock around the closure. Stock use is not permitted on park roads, or on the Dutton Creek Trail. Information on stock transportation services in the area is available by calling the park at 541-594-3061.

The Bybee Wildland Fire Use Fire was started by lightning on July 23, and has grown to 85 acres. Crews are constructing a fire line and performing firing operations on the south side of the fire. These holding actions are intended to keep the fire burning inside the park boundary.

The National Park Service is managing this fire as a wildland fire use fire for ecosystem benefits. Such fires are allowed to burn and spread naturally when they do not threaten people, property, or other resources of concern. Wildland fire use is an important tool for restoring fire dependent ecosystems. As these fires burn naturally, a mosaic is created across the landscape, breaking up continuous fuels into self- checking fire breaks. Fires managed under Wildland Fire Use are beneficial to the forest ecosystem, removing dead wood accumulations and recycling nutrients back into the soil.

The Whiskeytown Fire Use Module is monitoring fire behavior and conducting ground and aerial reconnaissance. This Wildland Fire Use Module is a team of specialized fire personnel proficient in wildland fire use planning and operations.

The best views of the fire are from the pullouts along the west side of the park, approximately a mile north of Rim Village. Visitors to the park should expect smoky conditions that may impact their experience.

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