Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest Supervisor Orders Closure of Butte Fork Bridge
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Supervisor Molly Juillerat (jeweler-ah) recently signed a closure order for the Butte Fork Bridge located in the Red Buttes Wilderness.
The Butte Fork Bridge closed to the public on October 9th and will remain closed until October 1, 2025, unless rescinded sooner. Removal of the bridge is required due to catastrophic failure from decayed substructures.
Since it is located in a designated wilderness, minimum impact techniques will be used while dismantling the bride. At this time, it is unclear whether the bridge will be replaced or if a re-route of the trail will be required.
The Butte Fork Trail is also expected to be temporarily closed at a later date for required maintenance. In the meantime, the trail will be more difficult to access east of Butte Fork Bridge due to this closure. The Shoofly Trail, also located in the Red Buttes Wilderness, is available an alternate route.
The Butte Fork Bridge was originally constructed around 1988 after a pack string tumbled off an existing trail. During construction, Applegate Ranger District employees utilized on-site materials that were felled, de-barked and installed.
Part of the "new" bridge failure resulted from inadequate sill construction which sank into the ground and began introducing rot. As time went on, the tread lumber retained integrity, but the supporting logs continued to degrade. This resulted in a bridge that looked safe even though the load-bearing logs were failing.
