On Tuesday, June 16, a wildland fire broke out at Beacon Hill, Spokane’s most popular trail system. The Upriver Fire, which reportedly first started in a wooded area, quickly spread to over 200 acres due to high winds.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
According to Ryan Griffith, Assistant Director of Recreation for the City of Spokane, about 238 acres of Beacon Hill are closed and won’t be opening anytime soon. The area in question is Camp Sekani at the far eastern side of Beacon Hill. Camp Sekani is a city park managed in partnership with the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.
While Griffith couldn’t give us an exact number of closed trails at Camp Sekani, he did note that the closure extends to the entire park. Washington Trails Association lists 27 miles of trails at Sekani, but it is unclear whether all of them are open to mountain biking.
One thing that does seem clear is that the trails likely suffered significant damage.
“Damage is widespread in Camp Sekani,” Griffith told us. “We have not had a chance to conduct a thorough damage assessment yet, as it was only recently safe for staff to enter the site escorted by fire officials for an initial walkthrough.”
Griffith went on to explain that the next step in the process is to conduct full site visits and assess the total damage. Doing so will allow officials not only to see the extent of trail damage but also to spot potential hazards. When the time is right, and the environment is safe, the city will work with Evergreen East to repair or rebuild trails as needed.
“Once a plan for mitigating hazards is in place, Evergreen East will be holding work parties to repair trail damage and promote healing of the environment,” Melinda DuPree, Evergreen East Chapter Board President, told Singletracks. “We are confident that this amazing community will come together once again to restore the area for future recreation opportunities at Beacon Hill.”
As a reminder, Griffith assures locals and visitors that only the Camp Sekani trails are closed. Beacon Hill’s westside trails remain open.
More important than mountain bikes
It can be easy to get bent out of shape when something like a fire closes your local trails. But, in the case of the Upriver Fire, much more than forested acreage burned down.
“Our first thoughts are with the neighbors of Beacon Hill and the losses they experienced,” DuPree said.
Some 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes, with over a dozen homes lost in the blaze. Sadly, one individual also died as a result of the fire.
“A life was lost, and people lost their homes in the Upriver Fire, and we continue to think of them. We are grateful for our first responders who attacked this fire with skill and passion,” Griffith concluded. “Camp Sekani will again be an incredible recreation space; it’s just going to take us a little time together to restore it to safety.”
This is not the first time that Beacon Hill, or this area in particular, has burned. In 2018, the similarly named Upriver Beacon Fire started in nearly the same area and burned over 100 acres. Fortunately, only one home burned, and no deaths occurred.
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