HELENA — Earlier this summer, the Horse Gulch Fire burned thousands of acres near Canyon Ferry Lake. As of Friday, August 30, 2024, some of that area has been reopened to the public.
The U.S. Forest Service has done a lot of work to make this happen.
“You know, making sure that there’s not still stuff smoldering and, you know, embers of smoke coming up and the trees aren’t hanging precariously over a trail or a road, things of that nature. Like I said, I can’t be specific, but that’s the kind of work that we would be doing after a fire,” says Matthew Ferrell, the Partnership Coordinator for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Ferrell says that cooler and wetter conditions this August allowed for an earlier opening.
“Usually a fire like this we would be waiting for a large rain or snow event usually sometime in the fall to be real confident that we’re not going to see that fire spring up again,” says Ferrell.
The Horse Gulch Fire burned just over 15,000 acres north of Canyon Ferry and was determined to be human-caused.
Ferrell says that there are still closures on various roads and trails:
- Bar Gulch Road (425B1)
- Bar Gulch Cabin
- Cave Gulch Road (4156)
- Motorized trails 240,241,242,243,245
These areas are closed off to the public and will remain that way likely until late next spring due to the possibility of mudslides or debris flow from heavy moisture.
“But if we do get some rain or some snow in these areas, we would be worried about having some pretty substantial runoff that might make those roads or trails impassable, might get people into rough situations,” says Ferrell.
Recently burned areas can still pose a threat to the public. Ferrell says anyone visiting the area should use caution, particularly when entering the burn zone and to be vigilant as it is still fire season.
“You know, it still can be a dangerous situation going into these recently burned areas. So, you know, we recommend that you use any sort of safety precautions that you have. I know when we go up into some of those recently burned areas, we’re wearing hard hats. That’s for that potential that trees could still come down,” says Ferrell.
