Stehekin reopens for tourism as wildfire risk dies down

Stehekin is back in business.

Flames from the Pioneer fire, which sat at the doorstep of this small resort town on the north shores of Lake Chelan, have begun to recede. Wildfire officials withdrew evacuation orders late last week and ferries are once more bringing tourists to the area.

To date, no injuries have been reported from the nearly 39,000-acre wildfire, nor were any buildings in Stehekin lost, said Ryan Rodruck, communications manager with the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The Pioneer fire is still expected to burn for some time, and those looking to head into the remote town should check conditions and ferry schedules before they leave.

Visitors will see the scorched mountainsides on the ferry trip up and at a few other points in town, said Nick Davis, who owns and operates Stehekin Reservations, renting off-road vehicles. But for the most part “you wouldn’t even know there was a fire up here,” he said.

Much of the natural beauty of Stehekin remains, Davis said.

And after weeks of closures and waiting on edge, it’s nice to be booking reservations for cabins, ranch access and ferry trips, rather than processing refunds, Davis said.

About 80 people live in Stehekin year round and their living depends on the summer tourism season, which typically peaks between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, Davis said. The town’s economy took a significant hit when the evacuations came down in late July, but now the community can recover at least a little.

Davis gave thanks that the town has passed the era of uncertainty that had continued for weeks.

“For a bad situation, it couldn’t have worked out better,” Davis said. “It’s been the shortest and the longest summer.”

While Stehekin is once more open for tourists, the Pioneer fire is still only 23% contained. About 522 firefighters are working the fire, Rodruck said.

As the atmosphere warms due to climate change, many experts expect wildfires to ignite more often and burn hotter, spreading the West’s already taxed resources even thinner. But the Pioneer fire has moved particularly slowly, in part because it’s burning over past wildfire scars, which left behind fewer fuels to spread the flames.