PORT ANGELES — Shortly after Sula Jacobs began working for the National Park Service, she told a friend she wanted to be the superintendent of Olympic National Park.
Jacobs’ enthusiasm for the park remains strong, as she demonstrated to the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday at the Red Lion Inn during a presentation about the park.
Jacobs first experienced Olympic National Park decades ago during a family trip, she said. She began working as the superintendent of the park 3 1/2 years ago.
During her presentation, Jacobs said the biggest event that happened in Olympic National Park in 2025 was the Bear Gulch fire, which started as a relatively minor event July 6. The fire was close to being contained, but then it exploded, growing by 5,000 acres in 24 hours.
“That’s a huge growth in September,” Jacobs said.
The fire was caused by humans, she said. She also told chamber members that the park always has a person on duty during fire season to keep an eye out for any developments.
This upcoming summer, Jacobs said there will be road work projects taking part in two significant areas. The first will be on the road just past the Mora Campground; the road will be closed while the campground will remain open. The second project will include a one-lane closure in the Hoh Rain Forest.
“We have a very limited window to do road work,” Jacobs said.
Although the December visitation numbers are not available yet, Jacobs said the park saw about 3.6 million visitors in 2025.
She also provided metrics for 2024, which included 3.7 million visitors. Those visitors spent $380 million, with 33 percent going to lodging and about 20 percent going to restaurants. That influx of visitor spending generated 2,880 jobs in the community, Jacobs said.
Overall, visitors to the Olympic Peninsula generated $516 million in economic output to the community, she said.
“That shows how important it is for the park to listen to local businesses,” she said.
Another update for 2025 was that the Utilities Team at ONP won the award for Best Maintenance through all U.S. national parks, Jacobs said.
During a question-and-answer session following her presentation, Jacobs was asked several questions about the reconstruction of the Hurricane Ridge Lodge. ONP hosted a public listening session regarding the lodge Wednesday evening after press time.
Anyone who was unable to attend the session can provide comment by going to parkplanning.nps.gov/ DayLodge_ListeningSession. The public comment period ends at 11:59 p.m. Jan. 21.
One question was about existing constraints of the project.
“It needs to be sited in the same spot, which is around 13,000 square feet,” Jacobs said.
The site still has electricity and water utilities set up, she said.
Jacobs told chamber members the new lodge will have the same capacity for parking.
When asked how construction might affect winter operations, Jacobs said it’s too soon to know because so many factors will be involved at that time.
“We’re very alert to winter activities on both a professional and personal level,” Jacobs said.
For more information about the lodge construction project, Jacobs directed chamber members to ONP’s website. Go to tinyurl.com/PDN-Hurricane-Ridge-Lodge for information about the project, including frequently asked questions.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
