Half a dozen trails and other popular areas are open after Willamette National Forest officials reduced the closure order for the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire area on the Middle Fork Ranger District.
As of Sunday, Shadow Bay Campground, South Waldo Shelter, South Waldo Trailhead, Fuji Mountain Trailhead, North Fork Trailhead, Bunchgrass Trail, Huckleberry Flats OHV Staging Area, Verdun Trailhead, and High Divide Trailhead have reopened. The Pacific Crest Trail is also now open and accessible for thru hikers.
WNF officials say while some areas previously in the Cedar Creek Fire closure order will be open, they might not have been cleared or visited since the fire.
The Cedar Creek Fire is burning near Waldo Lake. Photo taken by U.S. Forest Service personnel on Aug. 4, 2022.
Courtesy of Willamette National Forest
Visitors are encouraged to be aware of increased risks in burned areas including falling trees and limbs, uneven and unstable ground full of holes from burned root systems, falling rocks, difficulty navigating through sections of trail, and possible landslides, debris flows and flash floods.
The U.S. Forest Service has a list of safety tips for recreating in burned areas.
Campgrounds and recreation sites that will remain closed include North Waldo Campground, Islet Campground, Harralson Horse Campground, Blair Lake Campground, Huckleberry Mountain Lookout and Huckleberry Lake.
Here is a complete list of recreation sites and roads included in the Cedar Creek Fire closure order.
The Cedar Creek Fire began Aug. 1, 2022 when a lightning storm caused 20 to 30 new fires on the Willamette National Forest. It burned more than 127,000 acres, largely in steep, inaccessible terrain about 3 miles west of Waldo Lake, north of HWY 58 and 12 miles east of the community of Oakridge.
At North Waldo Campground, some campsites and areas experienced more fire intensity than others, as seen in 2022. Many trees surrounding this campsite were burned when the Cedar Creek Fire passed through. This campground remains closed as of June 2023.
Cedar Creek Fire Incident Command via InciWeb