Several SE WA State Wildlife Area Units Close As Lick Creek Fire Burns

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has closed several wildlife area units in southeast Washington for public safety due to the Lick Creek (formerly known as Dry Gulch) Fire burning in Asotin County, as well as to give firefighters space to respond.

Closed areas include the W.T. Wooten Unit of the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area, the 4-0 Ranch and Grouse Flats units of the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area, and the Asotin Creek and Weatherly units of the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area.

“While these closures may be inconvenient to some, we feel it is the safest and most responsible action we can take to keep members of the public and first responders safe,” said Steve Pozzanghera, WDFW’s Eastern Region Director. “Other public lands agencies are also closing areas to the public and we support their efforts to fight this fire and make safety a top concern.”

WDFW’s closures are in coordination with fire-related U.S. Forest Service closures on the Umatilla National Forest. WDFW expects that the wildlife area units may be closed for approximately a month or until conditions improve. Other areas could be closed as needed. Signs will be posted at all closed areas.

Popular water access areas on the Grande Ronde River that are not within the closed wildlife area units remain open at this time, including Boggan’s, Heller Bar, and Cougar Creek.

More information on this fire is available at: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7615/. For more information about fire prevention on public lands, visit the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ website or the U.S. Forest Service’s website.