[glenoid]

Fires have mostly been to the south of the Blues with the Grizzly Bear complex effecting the Wenaha portion of the wilderness. (There has not been access to the Blues even from the North with this fire.) This AM was fishing the Tucannon Lakes (3lb Rainbow) with the temperature at 80 degrees at 5:30 AM. Perfect conditions for fishing but not wildfires, yet by about 11:00 AM a fire started near the Last Resort on the Tucannon river road along the Tum-a-Lum drainage. Winds gusted to the 50-60 MPH. Now you really cannot get to the Blues from any of the Northern access points as they are now all closed. Nor can you get in from the South due to the Grizzly Fire. Not nice. This is the start of a primetime to go up high and listen to Bull Elk bugling all day and night for eligible cows. Hope this ends soon, but we still have no rain, and hopes are almost lost for the fall hiking season. (Need some rain for the mushrooms too!)

[1k]

[coho]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Redwic]

What about from the east, from Anatone or Asotin?

[Abert]

Fire map and closure map. I'd completely missed this. It looks like the high country is closed. The Wenaha River Trail from Troy and much of the Wenaha River drainage several miles west from Troy appears to be in the burn area.

[drm]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

The fall colors are already here, definitely early. I started seeing the first hints of color in late July. That is just bizarre. Berries are nearly done for the year as well, also quite early. Depends on how you define fall, but some of the things I associate with fall are definitely a month or more earlier than normal this year.

[joker]

Berry plants came out of the snow early, and it was warm early, so no wonder berries ripened early. I've noticed colors turning early in other super dry summers. I'll buy the notion that fall is coming early if we have snow in the passes a month early...

[drm]

Yes, colors can come early. I've seen vine maple turn red in early summer a number of times, not just this year. I suppose it depends on how you define early Fall. I was referring to the end of the dry season, with some steady precip that goes for a number of days and isn't confined to the west side of the crest.

[grannyhiker]

Moisture stress can make the leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs turn color early. I'm seeing it in my own neighborhood where people let their lawns dry up in summer. Unfortunately, the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness is another place that was on my bucket list for years but to which I never got (except for leading a late spring hike on the Tucannon River Trail in the late 1980s). I planned a few early May hikes on the Wenaha but never got there. Although Troy (the small community where the Wenaha joins the Grande Ronde) was evacuated, the town was saved. The forest, of course, will recover--and was probably overdue for burning--but not in the short lifetime I have left. The Strawberry Mountain Wilderness near John Day, OR is pretty well scorched, too. Considering the number of diseased and dying trees I saw while there a few years ago, that may not be such a bad thing. The effect on the surrounding area, though, is devasatating. They evacuated part of Prairie City (the gateway to Strawberry Lake) Friday night but were able to hold the fire back yesterday.

[Flora]

http://www.nwccinfo.blogspot.com/2015/09/09052015-grizzly-bear-complex-fire.html Today in Walla Walla, we received a good soaking rain. According to the report above, the higher elevations received 1/2 to 3/4 inches of rain, along with snow at 6,000 feet elevation and above (Oregon Butte?). This complex of fires has burned from the Twin Buttes / Grizzly Bear Ridge area southeast to Troy and Grouse Flats (to the east). The fire has also traveled back UP the Wenaha River towards Box Canyon and up the ridge towards Road 62. Brushing out work is being done on Road 64 (Skyline) to keep the fire from wandering into the Mill Creek Watershed, which supplies W2 with most of its domestic water. Major roads are closed, including Road 62, 64 and 46 (Kendal Ridge) and access to Bluewood Ski Area up the Touchet River Road. Bluewood was being used as a staging ground and camping area for the crews involved. The Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness is still closed and liable to be the rest of the season. Access may be allowed into surrounding areas, but probably limited due to danger from falling trees and still smoldering fires. Check with the Umatilla Nat'l Forest for updates on closures / openings. Panjab and Ladybug CGs are open, although they will probably be very full, given the extent of the closures on the northern edge of the wilderness. You can still get to Jubilee Lake and a couple of other nearby campgrounds. The North Fork Umatilla Wilderness and surrounding trails and roads are not affected by the Grizzly Bear Complex, although you might check on the status of the Phillips Creek Fire closer to Elgin. Big fire year in the mountains where I do a lot of hiking. Has been a rather lengthy, hot, dry and generally unpleasant summer in Eastern WA.