The Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center

Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center

On the north end of Entiat, Washington is the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center. The Interpretive Center is a work in progress at this point and hopes to act as a vehicle that can bring wildfire and firefighting information to the public. There are many features that are still in the planning stage at this point, but a trip to the Center is still very informative.

You can’t miss the old fire lookout structure that sits at the beginning of this roadside attraction. This is actually the original fire lookout that sat atop Chelan Butte for many years, beginning in the late 1930s, and was manned by personnel responsible for spotting wildfires and alerting fire crews.

The Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center is a half mile long gravel trail that takes you through typical Eastern Washington forest land and describes the effects of both wildfires and fire prevention techniques. Learn about the history of firefighting in the Eastern Cascade Mountains, what native trees are more resistant to fire and why, how our forests have changed because of our fire prevention techniques and even what happens when wildfires stray from forestland and approach urban development. The Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center provides a handy brochure with a map of the trail. There are currently 12 stops on the trail and at each one a new wildfire related issues is tackled.

As we stated earlier, the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center is indeed a work in progress; there are plans for a visitor center and an outdoor amphitheater, among other things. They are continuing to seek support for this project and more information can be found at www.wildfirecenter.org.

If you are driving by on vacation, a road trip, or even just your normal commute; the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center is a nice little break from your journey and is conveniently located right of of Highway 97A on the north end of Entiat between Wenatchee and Chelan. The half mile trail is a good stretch of the legs and you can even learn something about wildfires and fire prevention.

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