What Is Closed in the Sierra Right Now

Rain Saturday night, heavier than forecast, and cooler weather slowed the Wild River Fire near Gorham, New Hampshire, which had burned about 821 acres and is expected to stay within an 856-acre footprint, the Boston Globe reported Sunday, November 8. The White Mountain National Forest put containment at 29 percent on Sunday, up from 20 percent Friday, Connecticut Public reports, and crews expect full containment by Thursday, November 12.

The Boquillas Port of Entry in Big Bend National Park, the crossing to the Mexican village of Boquillas del Carmen, reopened Saturday, November 7, after about three weeks closed, the Big Bend Times reports; the National Park Service now lists it as open. High water on the Rio Grande closed it by mid-October, and as of November 5 about 100 feet of the trail to the river was still covered in slick mud with no safe way around it.

The Wild River Fire near Gorham, New Hampshire, was 20 percent contained as of Friday evening, November 6, and had not grown since Tuesday, WGME reported; crews hope to fully contain it by Thursday, November 12. New Forest Service mapping put it at 856 acres, NHPR reported, and officials believe it was likely human-caused. The White Mountain National Forest closure of Wild River Road, the Shelburne Trail and sections of the High Water Trail was still in effect in the latest notices; check the forest's alerts before heading to the Wild River area.

The primitive area of Davis Mountains State Park in West Texas, across the highway from the park's main developed area, is closed November 7 through 10 for Texas Parks and Wildlife public hunts for aoudad, javelina and feral hogs, and reopens November 11, the Big Bend Times reports. The rest of the park is not affected. The primitive area closes again February 20 to 23 for another hunt.

Wild River State Park in Chisago County, Minnesota, is closed to the public November 7 through 9 for a special hunt, open only to hunters drawn for permits, the Chisago County Press reports; camping and day use resume Tuesday, November 10. The park is unrelated to the Wild River Fire in New Hampshire.

The Wild River Fire, burning in steep terrain about 7 miles southeast of Gorham, New Hampshire, and a mile west of the Maine line, was 11 percent contained as of Friday, November 6. Size estimates have varied: the Forest Service put it at 982 acres on November 4, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy cited about 1,000 acres on November 5, and WMUR, citing the Forest Service, reported 856 acres on Friday. The fire was first reported Sunday afternoon, November 1. Its cause is under investigation, and the Forest Service believes it was human-caused.

The Boquillas Port of Entry in Big Bend National Park, the crossing to the Mexican village of Boquillas del Carmen, stayed closed Thursday and Friday, November 5 and 6, after an inspection found about 100 feet of the trail to the Rio Grande covered in slick mud with no safe way around it, the Big Bend Times reports, citing the park. The crossing has been closed since at least October 17, when high water made the path unsafe. Park officials planned another inspection Friday evening to decide whether it can reopen Saturday. When open, its winter hours are Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Grand Canyon National Park lifted Stage 2 fire restrictions on the South Rim effective immediately on November 4, the park said; they had been imposed because little water was available for fighting fires, and continued water hauling now supplements the South Rim's supply. Stage 1 restrictions remain on the South Rim, and campfires at Mather Campground are allowed only in established fire rings. Stage 4 water conservation measures also stay in place, so bring your own water. On the North Rim, Stage 2 restrictions remain for the rest of the 2026 season.

A crack in the bluff that holds up Pacific Coast Highway at El Morro, beside Crystal Cove State Park between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, measures as much as 360 feet long and two feet wide, Caltrans says, according to Surfer. Caltrans closed the southbound right lane between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive in mid-October and later added more partial closures as it moved to the second phase of emergency stabilization, Fox 11 reports. The closures stay in place until repairs are complete.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore closed the boardwalk and observation platform at the Bodie Island Light Station on November 2 for a rehabilitation expected to take about 120 days, finishing this winter if weather allows, the park said. The light station itself stays open. Crews will replace deteriorated boardwalk planks, cables and seating, repair the railings and treat the pilings against weather and sun, so expect construction equipment and contractors in the area.

Yosemite has temporarily closed Tioga Road, the continuation of Highway 120 through the park, and Glacier Point Road because of snow from this weekend's storm, the park's conditions page shows, with no overnight parking along either road. Tioga Road usually closes for the season sometime in November and stays closed until late May or June; when it's closed you can't reach Tuolumne Meadows or enter the park from the east. Snow can also close Wawona Road at times. For current road status and chain controls, call 209-372-0200 (press 1, then 1) before you drive.

The first widespread mountain snowstorm of the season is crossing the West this weekend, and the National Weather Service has winter storm warnings and advisories from the Sierra Nevada to the Rockies.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks will burn piles of cleared brush and small trees from November 1 through March 15, 2027, when weather, fuels, air quality and staffing allow, in the Big Stump, Grant Grove and Cedar Grove areas of Kings Canyon and the Mineral King area of Sequoia, the park said October 30. Expect smoke, burning piles, firefighters and equipment along park roads, and reduced visibility at times. The burning clears material from forest-restoration and defensible-space work that helps protect giant sequoias and park facilities from wildfire. Air quality updates are at fire.airnow.gov and valleyair.org.

Hatteras Island is open to visitors again. Dare County lifted its visitor evacuation order on Thursday, October 29, as N.C. 12 reopened near the Pea Island Visitor Center, a day ahead of the transportation department's Friday target, ending a closure that began with overwash on October 22. Visitors can again drive N.C. 12 across Pea Island and use the Ocracoke-Hatteras ferries, WRAL reports, though traffic remains slow through the repaired section.

Crews were set to begin paving a one-lane detour on NC 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center on Thursday, and the state transportation department is still aiming to open it to alternating one-way traffic by noon Friday, WCTI reports. Two-lane service is still weeks away, the Outer Banks Voice reports. Hatteras Island remains closed to visitors under Dare County's state of emergency, and the 24-hour emergency ferry from Stumpy Point to Rodanthe continues; anyone with a reservation should keep checking with their rental company and the county before traveling.

The National Weather Service has flood and flash flood watches across much of the Southwest's best hiking country as another surge of tropical moisture meets an incoming storm system. In West Texas and southeast New Mexico, a watch runs through Friday afternoon for areas including the Chisos Basin and Lower Brewster County in Big Bend, the Guadalupe and Delaware mountains, the Davis Mountains and the Marfa Plateau. In New Mexico's Sacramento Mountains, the Albuquerque office warned of storms repeatedly crossing burn scars Thursday afternoon and evening, with 1 to 1.5 inches of rain possible.

Grand Canyon National Park is taking public comments through midnight November 11 on a plan to remove sections of the historic Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, which runs through the inner canyon along the Bright Angel and North Kaibab trails with a spur toward the South Kaibab. Rebuilt by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in 1935 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the line has loose, hanging and fallen wire that endangers helicopters during rescues and can entangle wildlife, the park says. It proposes removing wire where needed and marking what stays, while leaving the historic poles, cross-arms and insulators in place. Comments go through the National Park Service's planning website.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says it aims to reopen N.C. 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center with a one-lane detour, controlled by flaggers or automated signals, by noon Friday, October 30, WAVY reports. Crews have begun rebuilding dunes, removing damaged pavement and grading the roadbed, but standing water and continued overwash are slowing the work, and king tides through Thursday could bring more flooding, according to the Island Free Press. Once the single lane is open, the department plans to add sandbags along the dune line and then pave two full lanes.

Several inner-canyon trails at Grand Canyon National Park have reopened after repairs to flood damage, the park said October 26: the South Kaibab Trail below The Tipoff, the entire River Trail connecting the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails, and the Bright Angel Trail between Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse and Havasupai Gardens. That Bright Angel section is open to hikers only; it stays closed to mules and other stock while crews repair more damage.

Gulf Islands National Seashore reopened the Naval Live Oaks Area in Florida on October 26, the last section closed by Hurricane Isaias, and every area of the park is now open, including Okaloosa, Opal Beach, Perdido Key, Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas, the park said. Superintendent Rick Clark said Isaias caused no substantial damage to buildings or infrastructure. Use caution on trails and stay out of any signed closed areas.

Rocky Mountain National Park and the U.S. Wildland Fire Service plan to burn about 437 acres on the park's east side, between the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and Bear Lake Road and south of High Drive, when weather and fuel conditions allow, possibly starting late October. Burning will be spread over several days to limit smoke, which may be visible in Estes Park. The park says earlier fuel treatments helped keep the 2020 East Troublesome Fire and 2012 Fern Lake Fire from crossing Bear Lake Road and Trail Ridge Road; check the park's alerts before driving Bear Lake Road during the burn.

The Blue Ridge Parkway between milepost 76.4 and 85.9, from the Apple Orchard parking area to Peaks Road and including Peaks of Otter Lodge, is open again, according to the park's road status page as of 6:37 a.m. Eastern Monday, October 26. Still closed: the Roanoke Mountain Loop at milepost 120.3, until further notice; milepost 344.2 to 355.3, from NC 80 to Mount Mitchell State Park, because of Hurricane Helene damage; and milepost 63.5 to 63.9 around the James River Bridge for rehabilitation, with a signed detour between mileposts 61.4 and 64. Hiking is prohibited at Crabtree Falls. The status page is updated each morning and can change during the day.

The trail to the top of Chilnualna Falls has reopened, Yosemite's current conditions page says. Still closed after the Dome Fire, which was fully contained October 18: the area east of Wawona Road, south of Glacier Point Road and north of Wawona, extending east to the Bridalveil Creek trailhead, south of the Ostrander Lake trail. Glacier Point Road itself is open, with no overnight parking. The park's public information map shows the closure boundary.

Mount Rainier's Wonderland Trail remains closed from the Carbon River Suspension Bridge to White River Campground, along with the Northern Loop Trail and all trails in the Grand Park area, until further notice, the park says. The Grand Park Fire 2 and the West Fork, Garda Falls and Pigeon fires, known together as the Wonderland Complex, are still active and expected to burn until extinguished naturally. The Sunrise and White River roads have also closed for the winter season.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore will close part of the Sandy Bay parking lot from November 2 to about late January 2027 while Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative replaces 15 wooden transmission poles with concrete structures between Sandy Bay and Hatteras Village, the park said October 26. Expect brief, intermittent lane closures on NC 12 when poles are delivered and removed. Access to Pamlico Sound for waterfowl hunting, fishing and other recreation stays open; avoid active work areas.

Trails within the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park are open, the park's conditions page says, after the 482-acre prescribed burn that began October 17 closed several of them on a rolling basis. The Kings Canyon Visitor Center has the most current trail conditions; smoke can linger near burned areas for days.

Ocean water crossed NC 12 near the Pea Island Visitor Center again at Sunday morning's high tide, the seventh straight day of ocean impacts on the same damaged stretch, the Island Free Press reports. The damage now covers more than 1,100 feet of highway, and there is still no confirmed timeline for reopening the road between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe.

A black bear attacked a woman from behind early Sunday, October 25, as she walked her leashed dog in her backyard near Index in Snohomish County, knocking her down and biting and clawing her before she got inside and called for help, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said. She was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Yellowstone National Park closes its West, South and East entrances and nearly all park roads to regular vehicle traffic on November 1, the park said October 21. Saturday, October 31, is the last day visitors can drive most of Yellowstone's roads in 2026. The road from Tower Fall to Canyon Junction over Dunraven Pass stays open through October 31, weather permitting.

Dare County says there is no timeline for reopening NC 12 between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, and its state of emergency and visitor evacuation for Hatteras Island remain in effect. The emergency ferry between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe runs on a fixed NCDOT schedule from Friday for permit holders; visitors may use it to leave but not to return. Hyde County residents with documentation may use it to reach Ocracoke, where limited Hatteras–Ocracoke ferry service has resumed and NC 12 is open. The county's next bulletin is due by noon Friday.

With a damaged stretch of NC 12 still cutting the road between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, the North Carolina Department of Transportation started emergency ferry service between Stumpy Point on the Dare County mainland and Rodanthe at 5 a.m. Thursday, October 22, Dare County said. Three boats are running around the clock, and each trip takes about two hours, WCTI reports.

Glacier National Park has confirmed white-nose syndrome in a dead little brown bat found in the Saint Mary area in May, and the fungus that causes it in several live bats sampled on the east side in June, the park said October 21. They are the first detections in the park and in Glacier County.

Grand Canyon National Park is taking public comments through midnight November 6 on a draft agreement with Arizona's historic preservation office on ways to make the replacement water tank at Hermits Rest less visible. The 2022 tank was meant to look like the old one, but Arizona safety rules added a ladder, platform and cap that stand out in the Hermits Rest National Historic Landmark. The project is separate from the park's broader water system repairs; the draft and comment form are on the park's planning site.

North Carolina transportation crews were assessing pavement damage on NC 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center on Wednesday, October 21, and rebuilding protective dunes and adding sand along undamaged shoulders, WNCT reported, citing NCDOT. The highway remains closed from the Marc Basnight Bridge to Rodanthe, with significant blown sand in the canal zone, and NCDOT is asking people to avoid Pea Island.

Ocean overwash has closed North Carolina Highway 12 between the Marc Basnight Bridge over Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe, Dare County said, and the mandatory evacuation for Hatteras Island visitors remains in effect.

Gulf Islands National Seashore has reopened most of its Florida District after Hurricane Isaias. The Fort Pickens Area opened for day use at 9 a.m. Sunday, October 18, and remains under a boil-water notice. The Opal Beach complex in the Santa Rosa Area reopened October 17, and the Mississippi District, Perdido Key and Fort Barrancas reopened October 14.

Hatteras Island remains closed to non-resident visitors under Dare County's state of emergency and evacuation order, Cape Hatteras National Seashore said Sunday, and Ocracoke Island cannot be reached because all ferry service from Hatteras Island, Swan Quarter and Cedar Island is suspended.

The Dome Fire in Yosemite is 100 percent contained at 6,788 acres, according to the federal incident report filed Saturday evening, with 235 people still assigned. Containment is not the same as reopening: the park has not announced any change to the trail closures inside the fire footprint, including Ostrander, Mono Meadow and Buena Vista, and its last release still listed them closed. Glacier Point Road and the Chilnualna Falls, Alder Creek, Four Mile and Panorama trails are open. Check Yosemite's conditions page before heading into the burned area.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore closed its campgrounds, off-road vehicle ramps and visitor facilities at noon Saturday, October 17, along with Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial, the Park Service said. They will reopen after conditions improve and post-storm assessments are done.

The Grant Grove prescribed burn in Kings Canyon National Park, first planned for October 13, now begins October 17, weather permitting, the park said in an update. It covers 482 acres, a little less than the 521 acres first announced.

Olympic National Park crews will remove the temporary bridge connecting the Quinault North Shore Road and South Shore Road on October 22. It spans a culvert vulnerable to winter storms and high water, and taking it out lets the park restore access once the highest risk of damage has passed. Through the winter, reach the Graves Creek area by the South Shore Road.

Olympic National Park's fire crews plan to burn debris piles in the Mora, Hoh, Elwha and Quinault maintenance areas beginning October 20, conditions permitting. Smoke may be visible from nearby trails and roads and can reduce visibility and air quality; fire.airnow.gov has current readings. The debris comes from containing the Mount Tom Creek Fire, clearing fuels around park buildings and road maintenance.

Two dead snowshoe hares found in Glacier National Park's Many Glacier Valley have tested positive for tularemia, a rare but serious bacterial disease, the park said October 15. One was found September 26 in the Park Service staff housing area at Many Glacier, and the other September 30 along the trail to the Swiftcurrent Falls viewing area.

The federal incident report filed Thursday evening, the day Yosemite was scheduled to take command of the Dome Fire back from the interagency team, shows 278 people still assigned, down from 524 a day earlier. The fire holds at 6,788 acres and 95 percent contained. Glacier Point Road and the Chilnualna Falls, Alder Creek, Four Mile and Panorama trails are open; the trails inside the fire footprint, including Ostrander, Mono Meadow and Buena Vista, remain closed.

The Interior Department and National Park Service have issued a final rule changing how many vehicles may use the restricted section of the Denali Park Road, from mile 15 to mile 90. Up to 160 vehicles a day may travel it during the visitor season, as long as the park's standards for resource conditions and visitor experience are met. That daily limit replaces the current cap of 10,512 vehicle permits a season.

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is scheduled to hand command of the Dome Fire back to Yosemite National Park today. The fire is 95 percent contained at 6,788 acres with no perimeter change in several days, and staffing is down to 524 people in the latest federal report. Crews are patrolling, hauling out hose and equipment by mule and helicopter, and repairing hand lines to limit erosion. Warmer, drier weather with light winds holds through today. Glacier Point Road is open; every trail inside the fire footprint, including Ostrander, Mono Meadow and Buena Vista, stays closed, while Chilnualna Falls, Alder Creek, Four Mile and Panorama are open.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park's road closure page, updated October 13, no longer lists U.S. 441, Newfound Gap Road, which the park closed Friday night ahead of Hurricane Isaias, and the Blue Ridge Parkway's status table also shows it open. The park has not issued a release announcing the reopening. The closure page does list the Carlos Campbell Overlook on Newfound Gap Road as temporarily closed while crews assess cracks in the pavement and sidewalk, and Mingus Mill as closed for rehabilitation. Cosby Knob Shelter on the Appalachian Trail remains closed for bear activity. If you are driving across the park soon after the storm, check the park's road closure map first; the main switchboard is 865-436-1200.

The Blue Ridge Parkway's last weather closure from Hurricane Isaias, milepost 455.7 to 469.1 from Soco Gap to U.S. 441 at the Smokies, is no longer listed as closed, according to the Parkway's road status as of 7:35 a.m. Tuesday.

Update, 8:15 p.m. Tuesday: The federal incident report filed this evening raises containment to 95 percent, from 86 percent this morning, with 596 people still assigned, down from 746. The acreage is unchanged at 6,788. Closures have not changed.

Update, 2 p.m. Eastern: Most of the Parkway has reopened. As of 1:59 p.m. Monday, the only weather closure left is milepost 455.7 to 469.1, from Soco Gap to U.S. 441 at the Smokies. The Virginia sections closed this morning for downed trees and rocks, including Peaks of Otter and the James River area, are listed open, as are Mount Mitchell State Park, Craggy Gardens and Beech Gap to Balsam Gap. Still closed for other reasons: the Helene section from NC 80 to Mount Mitchell (milepost 344.2 to 355.3), Roanoke Mountain Loop, and a short stretch at the James River Bridge (milepost 63.5 to 63.9) for bridge work. The Parkway's table now lists U.S. 441 through the Smokies as open but refers drivers to the Smokies for its status, and the Smokies had not posted a reopening when we checked. The original report from this morning follows.

The federal incident report filed Sunday evening puts the Dome Fire at 73 percent contained and 6,788 acres, with 906 personnel; the park had not posted a Monday update when this was written. Rain and snow showers are forecast through tonight. Glacier Point Road is open, and the trails inside the fire footprint, including Ostrander, Mono Meadow and Buena Vista, remain closed. All crews have been flown out of their wilderness spike camps by helicopter ahead of the storm, and crews have started hauling out about 12 miles of hose along with pumps, tanks, generators and fuel cans.

The Bouquet Fire is 93 percent contained at 1,048 acres, according to the federal incident report filed Sunday evening, with 46 people still assigned. All evacuations have been lifted and Rowher Flat is open, but the Drinkwater OHV area and forest roads 6N18 and 6N19 remain closed.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks plan to start a prescribed burn in the Grant Grove area on Tuesday, October 13, weather permitting. The burn covers 521 acres west of Highway 180, including areas near the General Grant Tree.

Every control line on the Dome Fire held through Saturday's wind, the Park Service says. Fire activity picked up with the gusts, but burning stayed in the interior and never threatened containment, which now stands at 69 percent. The park lists the fire at 6,805 acres, 24 fewer than Friday's 6,829; reported acreage is often revised as the perimeter is remapped, and the park did not explain the change. There are 926 people assigned.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is advising hikers to consider postponing trips on the southern part of the trail until Hurricane Isaias has passed. Its alert, posted Friday, says the storm's updated track brings heavy rain, flash flooding and high winds to the trail from Georgia through southwest Virginia, with possible heavy rain and flash flooding into central Virginia.

Glacier Point Road reopened at 7 a.m. Saturday, October 10, Yosemite National Park says. It had been closed for the Dome Fire since September, for smoke, visibility and firefighter access. The park asks drivers to go slowly and watch for firefighters working along the road.

North Cascades National Park Service Complex plans to burn brush piles left from fighting the Border 2 and Sisi fires in Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas through October and November, when weather and staffing allow. Smoke may be visible from roads and around Stehekin and Ross Lake and can settle in low areas overnight. The park says burns will only go ahead when the risk of fire spreading beyond the piles is low.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park closes U.S. 441, Newfound Gap Road, at 8 p.m. tonight because of strong winds expected from Hurricane Isaias and the risk of downed trees and debris. Balsam Mountain Campground closed at 5 p.m. The road crosses the Appalachian Trail at Newfound Gap.

Glacier National Park closes the alpine section of Going-to-the-Sun Road at 7 p.m. tonight, from Avalanche to the Jackson Glacier Overlook, ahead of a storm forecast to bring rain, possible snow and gusting wind to the high country through Sunday, October 11. The park says the closed stretch may change as needed and will reopen when conditions improve.

Zion National Park reopened visitor access on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway today, October 9, the park said. Part of the highway had been closed since September 30, when a large rock formation collapsed onto it, damaging the road and blocking travel. The 7.5 miles from the East Entrance to the Great Arch Overlook reopened October 6 for scenic driving and day use.

Containment on the Dome Fire rose to 61 percent on Thursday, up from 47 percent, the Park Service said this morning. The fire is 6,829 acres with 968 people assigned. Fire activity was minimal, and aircraft working with hotshot crews kept it inside its footprint.

The public comment period on a supplemental proposal to redefine "waters of the United States," the term that sets which streams, wetlands and other waters fall under the federal Clean Water Act, closes Friday, October 9. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers published the supplement in the Federal Register on September 9.

The Cibola National Forest is preparing an environmental impact statement on Roca Honda Resources' plan for an underground uranium mine on the Mount Taylor Ranger District, on National Forest, BLM, state and private land, and is taking scoping comments through October 14. The Forest Service expects the mine would need a project-specific amendment to the forest's land management plan. EPA Region 6 and BLM's Rio Puerco Field Office are cooperating agencies. Instructions for commenting are in the Federal Register notice, under project number 301824.

The last evacuation order on the Bouquet Fire has been cut back to the burned area itself. Zone LAC-E030-A now covers only the fire footprint, the Angeles National Forest says, and residents in Bouquet Canyon are not affected. Every other order and warning was lifted earlier in the week.

The Dome Fire has stayed within its footprint, the incident's InciWeb page says, and holds at 6,815 acres and 47 percent contained with 916 people assigned. Tree-felling crews are taking down standing dead trees in the 2017 Empire Fire burn, where they are a constant hazard to crews below, and firefighters are building hand line directly on the fire's eastern edge. The mule string has hauled 106 loads, 12,237 pounds of cargo, in just over a week. Warm, dry weather holds through today. Closures are unchanged: Glacier Point Road and the trails in the fire footprint, including Ostrander, Mono Meadow and Buena Vista, are closed; Chilnualna Falls, Alder Creek, Four Mile and Panorama trails are open.

The Interior Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service are taking nominations through October 22 for the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation and Access Council, a federal advisory body that recommends policy to the Interior and Agriculture secretaries on habitat, hunting and shooting access on public land, and ranges. Among its duties is reviewing public land that is currently unreachable for hunting and recommending ways to open it. Anyone who applied under the April 21 call does not need to reapply. Submission instructions are in the Federal Register notice.

Update, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday: The federal incident report filed this evening raises containment to 47 percent, from 41 percent this morning, with 916 personnel. The park's morning release put the fire at 6,815 acres. It also confirms the Chilnualna Falls and Alder Creek reopenings below and says the Buena Vista Trail remains closed. Warm, dry weather is expected through Thursday.

Update, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday: Bouquet Canyon Road reopened at 12:30 p.m. today, the Angeles National Forest says. The incident page's summary paragraph still describes the road as closed from Spunky Canyon to milepost 5.7, but its later, timestamped line gives the reopening; we are going with the reopening. Forest roads 6N18 and 6N19 and the Drinkwater and Rowher Flat OHV areas remain closed. Containment is unchanged at 74 percent.

Mount Hood National Forest updated the Grasshopper Fire closure on October 1, and it is smaller than the version this paper last reported. The new order covers National Forest land on the Barlow and Hood River ranger districts east of Mount Hood and runs through December 31 unless the forest lifts it sooner. Our status band had still been showing the old count of 54 trails and 24 roads.

The Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier is closed from the Carbon River Suspension Bridge to White River Campground, the park's conditions page says, along with the Northern Loop Trail and every trail in the Grand Park area. Our status band still showed the closure running from Carbon River to Summerland; the park now lists White River Campground as the end point. Summerland has its own separate trailhead closure for bridge construction.

The Bouquet Fire northeast of Santa Clarita is 67 percent contained, the Angeles National Forest said today, and most of the evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted. The fire is holding at about 1,048 acres. Activity is minimal, with some pockets still smoldering inside the burned area; a drone flight overnight showed crews where the remaining heat is.

The Dome Fire is 6,760 acres and 40 percent contained, the Park Service said Monday morning, with 1,063 people assigned. Crews kept the fire from growing on its north, west and south sides on Monday and made good progress building line on the eastern edge, where it is still active, the incident's InciWeb update says. Helicopters flew 29 missions.

A wildfire in the Angeles National Forest northeast of Santa Clarita has burned about 1,048 acres since Saturday afternoon. The Bouquet Fire started near Bouquet Canyon Road south of Bouquet Reservoir and is burning in chaparral and grass on steep ground with limited access. The Forest Service's incident record puts discovery at 2:16 p.m. Saturday; CAL FIRE's start time, as reported by local outlets, is 3:19 p.m.

The Dome Fire stayed inside its footprint on the south and west sides on Sunday, the incident's InciWeb update says, and crews there spent the day mopping up and improving lines. The work is now on the eastern flank, where pack mules are moving equipment to crews building line and helicopters are dropping water and shifting firefighters to the most active areas.

Starting today, the Bear Canyon Wildlife Management Area near Mimbres, New Mexico, is closed to all public access Monday through Thursday. It stays open Friday through Sunday for regular use. The New Mexico Department of Wildlife expects the weekday closures to last through the end of the year, with normal access back in January 2027.

Firefighters are putting structure protection around the Ostrander ski hut, including wrapping the building, the Park Service said this morning. The hut sits at Ostrander Lake, inside the area that has been closed for the fire.

The Dome Fire is 6,632 acres and 40 percent contained this morning, the Park Service says, about 470 acres larger than Friday's 6,159. There are 765 people assigned, and more interagency hotshot crews have been ordered and are arriving.

The Dome Fire closure now also takes in the Mono Meadow and Buena Vista trails, the incident's InciWeb page says. That is on top of the closures already in place: Glacier Point Road, the Chilnualna Falls trail and the trails beyond it toward Buena Vista and Crescent Lakes, and the Ostrander Trail and everything south of it, east of the Wawona Road to Chinquapin. The park's closure order and map have the exact lines.

The Bureau of Land Management has eased the seasonal fire restrictions on public land managed by its Redding Field Office, effective October 1. Recreational target shooting and campfires are allowed again, with a valid campfire permit, unless an area is posted otherwise. The restrictions had been in place since June 24.

The Dome Fire grew 192 acres since Wednesday morning and is 40 percent contained, the Park Service says, about 5,777 acres in all. Part of that growth was set deliberately.

The next entrance-fee-free day at national parks is Tuesday, October 27, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday. Starting this year the waiver applies to U.S. citizens and residents only; visitors from abroad pay the normal entrance fee. Only the entrance fee is waived: camping, reservations and special-use permits still cost what they usually do. The last fee-free day of 2026 is Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11.

Grand Canyon's North Rim moves to modified fall operations on October 15. Cape Royal Road and Point Imperial Road will close from sunset October 15 to sunrise November 3 for repair and rehabilitation work with the Federal Highway Administration, the park said September 30.

Mount Rainier National Park has closed the Summerland Trailhead and its parking area on the White River side for the Fryingpan Creek Bridge replacement, and they will stay closed for the length of the project, which is expected to finish in late fall 2029. Work began September 28, the park said September 30.

The Dome Fire was started by an abandoned campfire, according to the cause now listed on the incident's federal record. It began at about 7 a.m. on September 15, a quarter mile north of Chilnualna Falls.

The Dome Fire grew 177 acres since Monday morning and is 34 percent contained, the Park Service says. It covers 5,392 acres, with 796 people assigned.

Command of the Plaskett Fire on the Big Sur coast transfers back to Los Padres National Forest today, Tuesday, and the Timber Fire moves to Nevada Team 2, with the handover due to finish at 6 p.m. CAL FIRE says suppression repair is well along on all lines, crews are mopping up remaining heat along the Highway 1 corridor, and no fire spread is expected. A smaller team does not mean the land is open: the Monterey Ranger District closure that took effect Saturday stays in force through January 31.

The Dome Fire grew 406 acres since Sunday morning, more than on either of the two days before, and now covers 5,215 acres. Containment holds at 30 percent, and 808 people are assigned.

The Dome Fire grew 311 acres since yesterday morning and is 30 percent contained, the Park Service says. It now covers about 4,809 acres.

The Dome Fire is 28 percent contained this morning, the Park Service says, after a week in which the figure barely moved. The fire grew 240 acres overnight to 4,498 acres, with 781 people assigned.

Los Padres National Forest has issued a new emergency closure for the Monterey Ranger District, covering the Timber and Plaskett fire areas. Order 05-07-51-26-11 was signed September 25, takes effect today, and runs through January 31, 2027 unless the forest lifts or changes it sooner. It supersedes the order issued at the end of August.

Glacier Point Road is closed. The Park Service describes it as a public safety closure driven by reduced visibility from smoke and by the need to let firefighting operations work along it, rather than by any threat to the road itself. It will reopen when conditions allow; this is not the season-ending closure that usually takes that road out in autumn.

National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day both fall on Saturday, September 26. Volunteer projects run at parks and forests for the first; state wildlife agencies run free family events with open ranges and borrowed equipment for the second. Public Lands Day is not on the fee-free list for 2026 — volunteers at participating parks may be handed a fee-waiver coupon, in limited numbers and varying by park. The next fee-free date is Theodore Roosevelt's birthday on October 27.

The emergency order that closed the Chilnualna Falls trail ran until 11:59 last night unless extended. It was extended. The park's own conditions page this morning still lists the Ostrander Lake Trail and everything south of it as closed, along with Chilnualna Falls and the routes toward Buena Vista and Crescent lakes, with the closed area running east of the Wawona Road between Chinquapin and Wawona. No new expiry has been published, so treat it as open-ended.

Everyone is watching the Dome Fire, so two ordinary closures are going unnoticed. The trail between the wilderness center and Lembert Dome is shut for construction, with an alternate available. And a trail along the Merced River is closed on weekdays through December for bridge work, which means a midweek trip and a weekend trip are different trips. Both are on the park's conditions page, below the fire notice where nobody is reading.

The Timber Fire started on August 9 and has reached 25,443 acres at 59 percent containment, with 704 personnel still assigned as of mapping done this morning. The Plaskett Fire started August 26, reached 29,993 acres and is 97 percent contained. Both are on the Los Padres National Forest.

The Fish and Wildlife Service rule that opened 1,450 hunting and fishing opportunities across 32 refuges and rescinded non-lead requirements at nine of them is still open for comment until October 1. We reported the rule and should have said so at the time. Also open: a Bureau of Land Management notice to amend the Vernal resource management plan for oil and gas leasing, to October 5; a proposed change to the Pacific halibut catch sharing plan, October 5; and a proposal to delist the Gila chub, which closes Thursday. Comment through the docket on the Federal Register listing rather than by email.

The closure order the Yosemite superintendent issued last week runs until 11:59pm on Wednesday, September 23 — tonight — unless otherwise extended by a subsequent order. That conditional wording has been there from the start, and with the fire still growing it should be read as a minimum rather than a reopening date. Check the park's closures page before you plan around it.

A procession of first responders accompanied the two pilots killed on Sunday from Mariposa Airport to Modesto on Monday. Firefighters, law enforcement officers and other first responders from across the country stood along the route. Greg King, 56, and Ryan Cutter were doing bucket work on the Dome Fire when their Type 1 helicopter went down southeast of Ostrander Lake. The FAA and NTSB are investigating and have released no cause. The incident team has ordered critical incident stress management support for crews still working the fire.

A Type 1 helicopter doing bucket work on the Dome Fire crashed on Sunday afternoon, killing both pilots aboard. They have been identified as Greg King, 56, and Ryan Cutter. The aircraft, a Eurocopter Super Puma operated by the Oregon company Fly Precision under contract to the Forest Service, went down southeast of Ostrander Lake.

The Park Service expanded the closure on Monday. The Ostrander Lake Trail and all areas and trails south of it are now shut, on top of the Chilnualna Falls trail and the routes from the top of the falls toward Buena Vista and Crescent lakes. The closed area still extends east of the Wawona Road between Wawona and Chinquapin. Both lakes remain reachable from the east.

The latest interagency mapping puts the Dome Fire at 3,047 acres with 15 percent containment, measured Sunday evening. That is up from 1,177 acres and no containment on Wednesday. Five hundred and eighty-one personnel are assigned, against 187 last week, and the cause remains undetermined.

National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day both fall on Saturday. Volunteer projects run at parks and forests nationwide for the first; state wildlife agencies run free family events with open ranges and borrowed equipment for the second. The thing to remember, because it catches people every year: Public Lands Day is not on the fee-free list for 2026. Volunteers at participating parks may be handed a fee-waiver coupon, in limited numbers and varying by park. The next actual fee-free date is Theodore Roosevelt's birthday on October 27.

A policy overhaul took effect on January 1 and it has been reported badly enough that it is worth setting out plainly. The America the Beautiful pass now comes in two tiers. The $80 annual pass is the version you already knew, formally designated the resident pass, covering entrance and standard day-use at roughly 2,000 federal sites run by the Park Service, Forest Service, BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps.

The fire above Wawona that closed the Chilnualna Falls Trail on Tuesday was mapped at 100 acres that afternoon. By Wednesday afternoon it had reached 1,177 with no containment at all. The latest interagency perimeter mapping puts it at 1,976 acres with 10 percent contained — the first line crews have managed to hold.

Constitution Day is one of the fee-free dates on the National Park Service calendar, so entrance fees are waived today. New for 2026, that waiver applies only to US citizens and permanent residents; non-residents pay the regular entrance fee and, at eleven parks, a $100 per-person surcharge on top. It is the last free date until Theodore Roosevelt's birthday on October 27, and National Public Lands Day on September 26 is still not on the list. Camping, tours, timed entry and backcountry permits are all payable as usual. Yosemite is now cashless at its entrance stations.

A wildfire that started Tuesday roughly a quarter-mile north of Chilnualna Falls had grown to about 100 acres by late afternoon, and the Park Service closed the Chilnualna Falls Trail along with the routes running from the top of the falls toward Buena Vista and Crescent lakes.

A stretch of the Appalachian Trail through the Appalachian Ranger District remains closed, with a detour in place at Iron Mountain Gap routing hikers around the last few miles, from roughly a mile south of the destroyed Cherry Gap Shelter to about a mile north of the gap. Fire restrictions have been in force in the Roan Mountain area since the storm raised the fire danger, and crews are still laying gravel by the thousands of tons on forest roads.

The Sierra National Forest lifted its Garnet Fire closure in June and the Mammoth Pool boat launch is open again, though the burn area still holds hazards. Much of the Caribou Wilderness remains open but rough after the 2021 Dixie Fire, with downed timber and faint tread; hikers report some clearing has been done. North of Chester the Pacific Crest Trail is still choked with thorn brush and blowdown. Verify with the managing agency before committing to a route.

National Public Lands Day falls on Saturday, September 26, the 33rd time it has been held and the largest single-day volunteer effort on American public land. Organisers have stretched the event window to run from September 12 through October 10, and this year's theme is tied to the country's 250th anniversary.

Flash flooding through the Bright Angel and Phantom Ranch area at the end of August killed at least one person and left others unaccounted for. It also badly damaged the sole pipeline carrying water to millions of visitors a year, complicating a multi-year project already underway to replace the line. Check conditions and water availability before any inner-canyon plan this autumn.

The administration is proceeding with plans to rescind the quarter-century-old rule that has blocked road building, logging and other development across large stretches of national forest. Conservation groups and some members of Congress have pushed back, including a request to exempt specific states. If you hunt, ride or hike national forest, this is the rule change to follow.

Mount Rainier has the Wonderland Trail closed between Carbon River and Summerland because of the Grand Park 2 and Garda Falls fires, and is not issuing full-circuit permits until further notice. There is no version of the loop available right now.

Fifty-four trails and twenty-four forest roads in Mount Hood National Forest closed on August 4 as the Grasshopper Fire pushed toward the mountain. The forest describes it as a good portion of the Barlow Ranger District. The order runs through December 31 unless it is rescinded or amended first.

The Interior Department announced a proposed rule on July 14 that would move day-to-day grizzly management to the four states where the bears live, while leaving them listed as threatened. The department framed it as recognition of recovery rather than a delisting, and the Secretary was explicit that responsibility, not status, is what moves.