PORT ANGELES — More than 50 people packed into a small conference room at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Port Angeles on Wednesday evening to show their support for winter access at Hurricane Ridge and discuss how the community might help to ensure it happens.
Olympic National Park Superintendent Sula Jacobs told the audience that a determination about winter access hadn’t been made, but it’s a priority for herself and other park officials.
“This is really important to me,” Jacobs said. “I get that this is going slower than all of us would like.”
Jacobs said park officials are working on the situation but noted a guarantee of access “can’t be 100 percent because we don’t have a lodge.”
Ever since a fire burned the 12,201-square-foot Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge to the ground on May 7, many have wondered if the site inside Olympic National Park, which reopened to the public in late June, will remain open in the winter.
To remain open for the winter season, the park must restore electrical, water and sewage systems that were destroyed in the fire. That work cannot begin until the entire fire investigation is over, park officials have said.
Hurricane Ridge Road was closed to visitors for three days ending on Thursday while debris was removed from the lodge burn site so as to allow continued investigation into the cause of the blaze that destroyed the 71-year-old structure.
Hurricane Ridge is a popular site for such winter sports as skiing, tubing, sledding and snowshoeing. The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club has traditionally operated a small, generator-powered rope tow ski lift.
Access to Hurricane Ridge this summer has been limited by sanitation — specifically, the capacity of the 25 portable toilets Good Man Sanitation in Port Townsend is providing and servicing. Its contract began June 14 and runs until Oct. 13.
For the 5,242-foot Ridge to remain open this winter, the park must continue providing sanitation in conditions far different from those in the summer. They must endure temperatures that average 29 degrees Fahrenheit in December, January and February and winds that can reach up to 100 mph. The park in July issued a Request for Quote (RFQ) for just that kind of toilet facility.
Wednesday’s meeting was hosted by the newly formed Coalition for Hurricane Ridge Winter Access, a group of concerned residents who say they want to do whatever they can to support the park in allowing winter access.
The group circulated a letter at the meeting for attendees to sign. The letter urged the park to make sure the ridge would be accessible in the winter.
“This is just another thing we can use to say, ‘Hey guys, this is how much this matters,’” said coalition member Julian Lamarche.
In July, Lamrache’s 13-year-old daughter Remmi organized a car cruise in downtown Port Angeles calling for winter access. Organizers of the cruise emphasized the demonstration was not a protest but a show of support for being able to access the park in winter.
Also in attendance was Haley Schanne, community outreach specialist with U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer’s office (D-Gig Harbor) who said she is in weekly contact with Olympic National Park regarding the day lodge.
Schanne said Kilmer’s office can’t dictate outcomes to the National Park Service but can pass along input received from the community and will “encourage the park in the strongest possible terms” to ensure winter access.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Seattle, visited the Ridge on Monday and 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” needed to rebuild the lodge.
“But obviously, we’re ways from knowing what that number is,” Murray added.
Coalition members said at Wednesday’s meeting they didn’t have any updated news but said they wanted to bring people together who might be able to assist in efforts to ensure winter access.
“There is a lot of expertise, enthusiasm and know-how to make things happen at Hurricane Ridge,” said Wendel Raymond, leader of the volunteer Hurricane Ridge Ski Patrol.
“This is a great opportunity to connect people with experience and expertise to find solutions.”
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Paula Hunt contributed to this story.
