Donnelly, Idaho – Over the summer a wildfire that burned for nearly three weeks decimated almost 80 acres near the Tamarack Resort boundary. The Rock Fire burned dangerously close to the resort’s infrastructure but thankfully no structures or chairlifts were damaged. What was lost was is a whole bunch of trees and the Idaho resort has decided to make the burn scarred area into a new trail for their guests to ski this winter.
Idaho News 6’s Don Nelson headed out to burnt slopes where he met with the President of Tamarack, Scott Turlington, who noted the importance of adapting to the ever changing landscape and detailed the plan moving forward to open up 50 to 60 of new skiable acres that will be mostly advanced advanced terrain.
“That was the hand Mother Nature dealt us so we adapt and overcome.” -Scott Turlington
There is a lot of work left to do to clear the new run before it is suitable for skiing as crews haul dead timber by the truck load. 200+ loads will be brought down from burned area over the next three weeks and taken to a local sawmill to be turned into usable wood.
Once the slope is cleared from the burnt timber, any remaining stumps will be flush cut to a height of six inches so even a minimal snow base will render the area skiable. Once that work is complete its just a waiting game for snow:
“We will have groomers through here, a lot of powder, skiers enjoying this opportunity and taking advantage of the new terrain, the beautiful vistas you get from this pitch.” -Scott Turlington
It was tough to watch that fire burn over the summer at this beloved ski resort and we are happy to report the damage didn’t extend to any infrastructure and they are making the most out of a bad situation.
