The parking lot at the summit of Skinner Butte is closed to motor vehicles, effective Tuesday, June 2. The move is at the request of Eugene Springfield Fire Department in order to reduce fire danger over the summer.
Chris Girard, the Park Operations Manager of Eugene Parks and Open Space, told KLCC that there have been numerous fires on the butte in recent years. Many of them were caused by fireworks use, smoking and illegal fires.
“In order to reduce the fire danger, which has been mostly related to motor vehicles, we have closed the summit parking lot and the road that leads up to it to motor vehicles,” he said. “However, it is open to non-motorized traffic (such as) pedestrians, bicyclists.”
This is the third year the summit lot has been closed during peak fire season. It will remain closed until October.
Skinner Butte is near downtown Eugene, as well as residential neighborhoods and the historic Shelton McMurphey Johnson House.
The area is vulnerable to wildfire because of the butte’s steep slopes, officials said, which can contribute to the intensity and speed of wildfire growth.
There’s an ongoing effort to reduce fuels on Skinner Butte by Parks and Open Space, but the dry grasses, shrubs and mature fuels make the area highly susceptible to fire during the dry summer season.
This year is especially dry as the region is in drought and snow pack is historically low across the state.
