San Juan NF in SW Colorado to be closed!

[4runnerguy]

I started another thread on the 416 Fire north of Durango, but this closure will affect a much greater area.

So if you have plans around Durango, Pagosa Springs, Dolores up to Lizard Head Pass, be aware that everything on NF lands will be off limits to public use. The only exception might be the McPhee Campground. No hiking, travelling on NFS roads, no mountain biking.

CG's like Priest Gulch and Cayton near Rico, Junction Creek and the Vallecito Reservoir area near Durango, the CG's on 600 road up toward Williams Creek Reservoir, and West Fork and East Fork CG's on the way up Wolf Creek Pass above Pagosa Springs are all closed.

So basically SW Colorado is a no-go for forest recreation right now. BLM lands and Mesa Verde aren't affected by this order, although smoke in the area is pretty thick. Except for US 550 between Durango and Silverton, US and state highways remain open, so you can still travel around.

They're predicting some rain come next weekend, but how much is uncertain. Unfortunately, that also means lightning, not needed right now.

[fanrgs]

4runnerguy wrote:
In places, the county road right-of-ways are actually leased from the NFS in exchange for the county picking up the maintenance. Had that exact thing on the "county" road in front of our cabin. Actually owned by the NFS.

If you look at the topo maps in the Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer (which I still use even with Google Earth being available on-line) or at the maps issued by each National Forest, you will see that many Forest Roads (FR) also have County Road (CR) numbers that are different from each other.

[cruiserjs]

County governments have the power/right to close roads/access in entire counties so watch the headlines/news ahead of wherever your pla nas indicate.

[patperry2766]

About 10 years ago, my wife and I were in Yellowstone. You could still see remnants of an epic fire in the area almost 20 years prior to us visiting.
We thoroughly enjoy camping in your state and the campgrounds we have been to have been top notch. We have many memories to bring back to Texas with us. My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by this and we pray for the safety of the residents and firefighters battling these fires.

[4runnerguy]

BarryG20 wrote:
What you read is correct up to $10k in fines but the highways and byways are not closed just the forest service roads. County roadways, State highways and US highways may pass through national forest but the NFS does not have jurisdiction over them.

I would be cautious about county roads. In places, the county road right-of-ways are actually leased from the NFS in exchange for the county picking up the maintenance. Had that exact thing on the "county" road in front of our cabin. Actually owned by the NFS.

My guess is they'll have Closed signs posted in the very near future where roads turn off the major highways.

[BarryG20]

What you read is correct up to $10k in fines but the highways and byways are not closed just the forest service roads. County roadways, State highways and US highways may pass through national forest but the NFS does not have jurisdiction over them. La Plata county where the Durango area fire is has enacted a similar resolution for the county. Much of the state at least west of I-25 whether county, national forest or BLM is under a stage 2 restrictions. As far as the roads that traverse through the forest such as US160 yes you can drive it but I would not leave the road shoulder in the San Juan National Forest. Forest service roads are definitely closed to all travel outside of exempt situations which probably isn't any of us.

[patperry2766]

BarryG20 wrote:
The highways are not closed due to the SJNF closure. Currently the only highway closed is 550 from just north of Durango to about Molas Pass (mm32-64)I think and that is due to the fire activity not the SJNF closure.

OK, the activities within SJNF are closed but you can still drive thru? One article I read said that there were some pretty stiff fines and possible jail time for entering the restricted zone. I didn't know if that meant EVERYTHING, including travel was being restricted.

Thanks

[BarryG20]

The highways are not closed due to the SJNF closure. Currently the only highway closed is 550 from just north of Durango to about Molas Pass (mm32-64)I think and that is due to the fire activity not the SJNF closure.

[patperry2766]

Are the highways that traverse the SJNF like 160 between Pagosa Springs and 145 between Dolores and Telluride going to be closed because of this.

[4runnerguy]

mekkerl wrote:
I'm following this thread...as we are scheduled and booked to be in this area (I believe) later this summer.

As I am very unfamiliar with this area, and with forest fires, being from upstate NY 🙂
Do you think I should look at re-routing and finding new places to go?
This is a 32-day family trip from NY for our four kids (5,7,9,11) and us.

We are booked:

Arrive in Mesa Verde on August 14th for 2-ngts (from Moab)
Arrive in Ouray on August 16th for 3-ngts
Arrive in Salida on August 19th for 3-ngts

Any advice?

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

I think you will be fine. Mesa Verde isn't in the San Juan NF and isn't subject to that closure. If you're staying up at Mesa Verde, you'll be above the smoke.

Getting to Ouray, there are two main routes. One is US 550 through Silverton and over several big passes. Many here have suggested that it isn't a route to take with a big rig if you haven't done much mountain driving. US 550 is the one highway currently closed or subject to night closures.

The other route is to head west to Cortez and take CO 145 etc. through Telluride and then to Ridgway. No problems on that route at the moment.

From Ouray to Salida there are no issues. But as mentioned, you'll need to keep yourself informed as you get closer to your travel dates.

For those who don't follow these things (count yourself lucky) a good resource to keep track of current fire activity is Inciweb. There's a US map that you can zoom into the areas you might be travelling in.

[4runnerguy]

patperry2766 wrote:
So, with the closure, does that also mean that travel on roads is closed as well?

I would assume so, but wanted to ask to make sure. Were gonna be in Ridgway in a month and I didn't want to end up somewhere where I'm not suppose to be. We were gonna rent a Jeep and do some exploring in the Telluride, Silverton, Ouray area..is that still safe for now or is it too soon to tell.

Tough to know where things will be in a month. They're predicting some rain this weekend but I don't know what that will mean for the overall forest closure. I've read that the monsoon is supposed to kick in earlier this year, so that will also help.

More specifically to your question, even now there's plenty to do in the areas you've mentioned. Most aren't on San Juan NF lands. Above Ouray and Telluride is the Uncompahgre NF which isn't under closure. Great trails out of Ouray to places like Yankee Boy Basin. Imogene Pass (4x4) from Ouray to Telluride shouldn't be a problem either. But all the 4x4 roads south of Red Mountain Pass on US 550 and Lizard Head Pass on CO 145 are on San Juan NF lands and therefore closed.

BUT, many of the trails east of Silverton are on BLM lands and not subject to the closures. The road up to Animas Forks would be great. Engineer Pass or Stony Pass over to Lake City would also work.

The Jeep rental agencies will steer you to the appropriate areas.

[Thom02099]

As most of you are probably aware, fire can be very unpredictable. Certain patterns can be anticipated, but fuel source, geography, and winds are always wildcards.

Too early to say what will be the situation toward the end of this month, or into July. The 3 largest fires in Colorado history were
~138000/110400/87400 acres, significantly larger than the current 416 fire at ~23000 acres. Hopefully the firefighting efforts going on now will be a success in containment and won't approach some of these historic fires.

However, the Fern Lake Fire in RMNP a few years back started 10.09.2012 and wasn't officially out until spring 2013...more than 6 months. Even snow and cold could not stop that fire over the winter. Fuel (beetle kill), winter winds, and geography were major factors for that fire.

Anyone coming to SW Colorado should certainly monitor what's going on prior to departure, and a good contingency plan would probably not be a bad idea.

[mekkerl]

I'm following this thread...as we are scheduled and booked to be in this area (I believe) later this summer.

As I am very unfamiliar with this area, and with forest fires, being from upstate NY 🙂
Do you think I should look at re-routing and finding new places to go?
This is a 32-day family trip from NY for our four kids (5,7,9,11) and us.

We are booked:

Arrive in Mesa Verde on August 14th for 2-ngts (from Moab)
Arrive in Ouray on August 16th for 3-ngts
Arrive in Salida on August 19th for 3-ngts

Any advice?

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

[BarryG20]

The forest service roads(not highways), campgrounds and trails are closed in the San Juan National Forest.
However I believe the San Juan National Forest Boundary is the top of Red Mountain Pass on 550 and Lizard Head Pass on 145 but it is not a straight line across the two. So Ridgeway no problem, Ouray no problem, Telluride should also not be a problem it will just be a matter of which trails you get on and where they lead so having a map showing the SJNF boundary would be good

https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=a76c2a020f3a488781f0def636057b4e

[patperry2766]

So, with the closure, does that also mean that travel on roads is closed as well?

I would assume so, but wanted to ask to make sure. Were gonna be in Ridgway in a month and I didn't want to end up somewhere where I'm not suppose to be. We were gonna rent a Jeep and do some exploring in the Telluride, Silverton, Ouray area..is that still safe for now or is it too soon to tell.

I still want to come and give my tourist dollars, but I don't want to leave with a big fine which looks like it could be significant.