Bitterroot National Forest

1801 N. 1st Street, Hamilton, MT 59840 (406) 363-7100 NEWS RELEASE

__________________________________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tod McKay Public Affairs Officer (406) 363-7122 (406) 531-1130 - CELL tgmckay@fs.fed.us September 19, 2011

7 MILES OF SKALKAHO HIGHWAY TO RE-OPEN ON TUESDAY Hamilton, MT. The Montana Transportation Department announced this afternoon that it is re-opening two sections of Skalkaho Highway (State Highway 38) previously closed to the public because of the 41 Complex Fires. Both areas will re-open at 8:00am on Tuesday, September 20th. Beginning tomorrow, the road will be open to mile post 17 Railroad Creek on the Bitterroot side of the falls and to mile post 26 - top of the pass on the Phillipsburg side. This will allow the public and hunters to access Railroad Creek Road (Forest Road # 711) on the Bitterroot National Forest and also Crystal Creek and Mud Lake Campgrounds on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The highway has been closed since September 5th from mile post 14 to mile post 30 due to extreme fire activity including down trees and snags, rocks, and rolling and burning debris falling onto the roadway. The fire is still actively burning on hillsides next to several sections of the highway that will remain closed, said Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Julie King. Our fire crews have been removing snags and rocks from the road that continue falling, as it is safe for them to do so. We appreciate the Transportation Department working with us and share their desire to open Skalkaho Highway just as soon as the hillsides along the road stabilize and its reasonably safe for travel. The Forest also announced today that it is lifting the emergency closure associated with the Copper Mountain Fire located 27 miles southwest of Phillipsburg. The fire has been burning in the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness on the boundary of the Bitterroot and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests. The public will now be able to access sections of trails # 313, 40 and 168 within the Wilderness Study Area that had been previously closed. Last week, the Forest announced it was lifting two other closures associated with the 41 Complex Fire: 1. The Fox Peak Fire emergency closure was lifted on Friday opening areas in the Sapphire Mountains south of Signal Rock including trails # 313 and 503.

2. Only part of the Coyote Meadows closure has been lifted: approximately 2.5 miles of Skalkaho Rye Road #75 has been re-opened. Other areas re-opened include Two Bear Meadows, Gods Little Acre Meadows and several areas east of trail # 87. Trail 87 remains closed. All other closures associated with the 41 Complex and Saddle Complex Fires remain in place. For the latest fire and closure information and to see a map of current closure areas, visit www.inciweb.org and click on 41 Complex or Saddle Complex. ###