Planning a late-summer adventure to strut along Kendall Katwalk, tag King County’s highest point, hike the Pacific Crest Trail section J or set up camp near a swimming hole in the Lake Cle Elum drainage?<\/p>\n
You’ll have to cross those off the list for now.<\/p>\n
The Three Queens fire burning at the north end of Lake Kachess prompted another round of trail, forest road and campground closures this week from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.<\/p>\n
The updated closure list \u2014 now covering 36 trails, 10 trailheads, nine campgrounds, two boat launches and two day-use areas \u2014 restricts some of the most popular spots in and around the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The Pacific Crest Trail is closed from Snoqualmie Pass to Deception Pass, which means no day hikes to the dramatic ledge-like Kendall Katwalk that trail crews blasted out of granite with dynamite.<\/p>\n
Trail and trailhead closures block the standard routes to approach glaciated Mount Daniel, the highest point in King County. A slew of riverfront and lakefront campgrounds that fill up most of the summer \u2014 Kachess, Owhi, Salmon La Sac, Wish Poosh \u2014\u00a0are shuttered. Crown jewel alpine lakes like Spade, Spectacle and Venus are all off the table.<\/p>\n
The lightning-caused fire was reported on July 15 and currently spans 3,533 acres on both sides of Lake Kachess, according to the Forest Service online informational portal inciweb.wildfire.gov<\/a>. It remains 0% contained and there are 403 personnel, four helicopters and 13 engines assigned to the fire.<\/p>\n “Fire progression continues along the eastern edge of Kachess Lake, moving south and southeast toward Thorp Creek,” a Thursday update<\/a> read. “This section of the fire could complicate containment efforts due to steep terrain, which can cause rolling, burning material that contributes to continued spread. Incident personnel are utilizing aircraft to slow the fire\u2019s progression until ground crews can safely access and engage in the area.”<\/p>\n The latest round of closures in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest comes amid another red flag warning for the Olympics and Cascades<\/a> during what is already the state’s third-worst wildfire season<\/a> in decades.<\/p>\n