Wildlife habitat reopened as fire danger eases

LONGVIEW, Wash. – About 15,000 acres of PacifiCorp-managed wildlife habitat near the Lewis River reopened Thursday as fire danger in the Cougar area continued to ease.

The Daily News reports the company had closed the lands, which are adjacent to the Lewis River reservoirs and are usually open in fall for hunting, on Sept. 11 due to hazardous fire conditions, including poor air quality conditions and the nearby Big Hollow Fire.

As of Sunday, 40% of the nearly 25,000-acre blaze near the Gifford Pinchot National Forest south of the Swift Reservoir was contained. Campfire restrictions for the national forest also had been lifted.

PacifiCorp last week reopened several camping, day use and boat launch sites along the Lewis River, which also had been closed due to the fires. Some facilities are closed for the season or closed temporarily due to construction, according to a news release.