Section of popular mountain bike trail reopens in area affected by 2017 wildfire

(Devon Dewey, KSL.com, File)


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BRIAN HEAD, Iron County — A section of a popular mountain biking trail closed since a massive 2017 wildfire in southern Utah reopened last week, town officials said.

The right fork of the Bunker Creek Trail reopened Wednesday, more than a year after the fire first sparked near Brian Head on June 17, 2017. An official ribbon-cutting for the trail is planned for Friday afternoon at the Sydney Peak Trailhead. The right fork of Bunker Creek is the first of the areas to reopen after the fire.

“We wanted to get something open as soon as we could. Right Fork showed the best potential to be open this summer, and it was important to show what we could do with these trails,” Del Orme, recreational staff officer for the Dixie National Forest, said in a prepared statement.

U.S. Forest Service officials, Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association members and Brian Head residents each worked to restore trails since the fire was fully contained last July. In addition to restoring the trails damaged by the fire, crews improved trails that have been “eroded severely,” Brian Head town manager Bret Howser said.

The American Conservation Experience also joined in the process during fall 2017 in the area that reopened Wednesday. In addition, Howser said the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation matched $200,000 raised by Brian Head town officials, Dixie National Forest officials and the Iron County Restaurant Tax Board to improve the remaining sections of mountain biking.

Officials hope the reopened trail will help heal damage caused by the Brian Head Fire. The fire burned 71,675 acres, or nearly 112 square miles, mostly north and east of the southern Utah town, according to information released by Howser. About 89 percent of the land burned was within the Dixie National Forest, where the Bunker Creek Trail is located.

In a prepared statement, Brian Head Mayor Clayton Calloway described mountain biking a “keystone for (the town’s) summer economy.”

“With the trails, we’re going to improve on the Dixie, it’s hard not be excited that Brian Head is returning to its glory days of mountain biking,” he said. “The fire was a terrible thing, but it’s been great to see the community come together to take the lemons the fire handed us and make some lemonade.”

While there is heavy optimism for the rebuilding the burn scar areas, there are also potential dangers as southern Utah’s monsoon season arrives. Burn scars mean an increased risk for flooding and debris flow, and on Monday, rains in the area led to a flash flood warning for areas north of Brian Head.

The National Weather Service officials tweeted Monday afternoon they had received reports that state Route 143 had become “impassable due to flooding from heavy rain.” They noted debris flows through Parowan Creek was also possible.

Robert Ray Lyman, 61, of Taylorsville, was charged on July 25, 2017, with reckless burning and burning without a permit in connection with igniting the fire. He pleaded not guilty in 5th District Court in October. A jury trial was slated to begin Aug. 29, according to court records.

The fire destroyed 13 dwellings and 13 other structures. It cost more than $36 million, according to state officials.

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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers general news, outdoors, history and sports for KSL.com.

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