Sen. Patty Murray, center, listens to Olympic National Park Superintendent Sula Jacobs, right, explain the ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire that destroyed the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge on May 7 and the park’s efforts to maintain visitor access this summer and possibly into the winter. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)

Sen. Patty Murray, center, listens to Olympic National Park Superintendent Sula Jacobs, right, explain the ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire that destroyed the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge on May 7 and the park’s efforts to maintain visitor access this summer and possibly into the winter. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)

Murray vows for help in rebuilding lodge

Senator tours sites in Olympic National Park

PORT ANGELES — Sen. Patty Murray’s visit to the North Olympic Peninsula took her from sea level to 5,000 feet and back again on a 10-hour, 200-mile trip to get a first-hand look at the remains of the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge, survey coastal erosion at Kalaloch Beach and celebrate with Port Angeles officials and trail advocates a $16 million federal grant to complete the Olympic Discovery and Sound to Olympics trails.

Murray, D-Seattle, who is president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited the area Monday and Tuesday.

The six-term Democrat U.S. senator from Washington state said Monday she had been devastated when she learned about the May 7 fire that destroyed the day lodge in Olympic National Park.

“As somebody who’s brought my family here, gone hiking from here, it’s where we bring visitors,” Murray said. “I want it to be back to where it was where people can use it again like they always have for decades.”

Park Superintendent Sula Jacobs, Acting Facility Manager Jeff Doryland, Acting Deputy Facility Manager Zach Gray and Project Manager Cody Manzer discussed with Murray short- and long-term strategies for replacing the lodge and maintaining visitor access to one of the park’s most popular destinations.

The investigation into the cause of the fire conducted by “a group of external parties” is continuing, Jacobs told Murray, but it hadn’t stopped the park from moving ahead with medium- and long-term planning.

Among the solutions it is working on, Jacobs told Murray, was how to keep Hurricane Ridge open this winter. The skiers, snowshoers and sledders who visited were passionate about maintaining access, she said.

“We are tremendously cognizant of that, which is why I pushed the team and they have kind of been jumping up and down to figure out everything, and there has been every kind of roadblock that you can conceive of,” she said.

Doryland explained to Murray the park was looking at a “bare bones” solution to providing toilets at Hurricane Ridge this winter as well as designing an interim solution for restrooms until a new lodge can be built.

“We need something that’s a little hardier than just a couple of trailers, so we’re looking at possibly some sort of modular buildings. Even if it’s trailers, they would have to be winterized and a lot more secure,” Doryland said. “We’d be looking at having sufficient toilets as well as storage for all the supplies.”

Gray said the park had started working on a concept design for a new lodge that would use the same footprint as the old one, possibly incorporate passive solar or other green technologies and balance the needs of both visitors and operations.

Between the design process and construction, park staff told Murray it could take five to seven years — a conservative estimate — until a new lodge could be opened.

Jacobs said the park had funds for design work, for basic demolition of the old lodge and to provide portable toilets, but not for constructing an entirely new building.

“We’re talking about clearly north of $50 million for this kind of size of structure, so this is clearly not insignificant,” Jacobs said.

“It doesn’t fall neatly into any one funding bucket, so we are just going ahead as a park and just preparing for everything all at once,” she continued. “It is really unusual to be working on five or six different alternatives simultaneously. But that’s what we’re doing because we recognize how important it is to rebuild this.”

Murray vowed to “do everything I can in my capacity as chairman of Appropriations working with the Park Service and what other partners come into this to get the funding. But obviously, we’re ways from knowing what that number is.”

Hurricane Ridge will remain closed to the public, including bicyclists, through Thursday for debris removal from the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge burn site. The debris removal is to allow for the investigation into the fire to continue.

Multi-use trail

Before her trip to Hurricane Ridge, Murray met with local officials and trail advocates at the 9/11 Memorial Waterfront Park to celebrate a $16 million federal grant for a multi-use trail that will eventually join the Olympic Discovery and the Sound to Olympics trails to connect La Push to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal.

Murray secured the funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program.

The grant will fund the planning and design of 34 multi-use trail segments across both the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas as part of the Puget Sound to Pacific Initiative. The City of Port Angeles acted as the lead agency for the grant.

________

Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com.

Steve Fradkin, coastal ecologist with Olympic Natural Park, explains to Sen. Patty Murray the coastal erosion that is threatening cabins at Kalaloch Lodge in the park, as well as some archeological sites. Murray also visited the site of Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge destroyed by fire May 7 and the Olympic Discovery Trail on her daylong trip to the North Olympic Peninsula on Monday. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)

Steve Fradkin, coastal ecologist with Olympic Natural Park, explains to Sen. Patty Murray the coastal erosion that is threatening cabins at Kalaloch Lodge in the park, as well as some archeological sites. Murray also visited the site of Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge destroyed by fire May 7 and the Olympic Discovery Trail on her daylong trip to the North Olympic Peninsula on Monday. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)

More in News

Peninsula College nursing students, from left, Emily Haddock of Lewiston, Idaho, Jordan Hegtvedt of Sequim and Chaela Cashman of Port Angeles adjust each other’s mortar boards in preparation for commencement ceremonies on Saturday on the college’s Port Angeles campus. A total of 328 students were expected to take part in two ceremonies with 530 students eligible for diplomas and certificates for the 2024-25 academic year. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Graduation prep

Peninsula College nursing students, from left, Emily Haddock of Lewiston, Idaho, Jordan… Continue reading

Next steps outlined in Olympic Medical Center process

CEO: Update on status will be ‘coming soon’

Cooling centers would extend hours, if needed

Summer forecast calls for warmer, smokier conditions, public health specialist says

Elwha River bridge set to be demolished

Clallam commissioners receive road construction updates

Sequim city staff are considering next options for a house and various outbuildings in Gerhardt Park after a recent surplus auction resulted in no bids. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim considers options for house in park

Public provided no bids during process that ended June 6

Three injured following crash near Forks

Three people were injured following a two-car collision on state… Continue reading

Power outage scheduled for West End customers

Clallam County Public Utility District No. 1 has announced a… Continue reading

Chimacum High School senior Jesse Daniels takes crazy cell phone photos of his classmates while waiting to march to the gym for his graduation ceremony at Chimacum High on Saturday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Lasting memories

Chimacum High School senior Jesse Daniels takes crazy cell phone photos of… Continue reading

Cadence Harlan and Sophia Petta lead their class of 99 Port Townsend High School graduating seniors through the Rhododendron Garden at Fort Worden State Park on Friday for their graduation ceremony at McCurdy Pavilion. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Graduation walk

Cadence Harlan and Sophia Petta lead their class of 99 Port Townsend… Continue reading

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula
Carrie Blake Community Park, pictured last summer, returns as a Summer Meal Program destination through the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula and the Department of Agriculture. Meals are offered to children ages 1-18 from noon to 12:30 p.m. in the park on weekdays, except July 4, through Aug. 27.
Free student meals programs start in Port Angeles, Sequim

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula has launched its… Continue reading

Security exercise set for Wednesday at Indian Island

Naval Magazine Indian Island will conduct a security training… Continue reading

Carissa Guiley of Silverdale, left, along with daughters Mia Guiley, 5, and Evelyn Guiley, 8, peer over a rocky bluff at a sea stack in Crescent Bay on Saturday near Port Crescent. The family was on an outing at Salt Creek County Recreation Area. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
What’s over the edge?

Carissa Guiley of Silverdale, left, along with daughters Mia Guiley, 5, and… Continue reading