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Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Hoodoo back to work after fire
By Todd Williver

Hoodoo Ski Area escaped the B&B Complex Fire relatively unscathed as the monster fire cut a large swath around the ski area. The fire damaged only 50 acres of the 800-acre Hoodoo Ski Area, limited to the Nordic area to the north of the lodge.

Hoodoo Recreation Services, the summer division of Hoodoo that manages forest land and campgrounds, didn't fare as well.

According to Chuck Shepard, president and head parking lot attendant (as he likes to describe himself), the Hoodoo Ski Area will be "open for business as usual this winter and the effects of the B&B Complex Fire should be unnoticeable except for portions of the groomed Nordic trails that were in the fire's path.

"It didn't affect anything we're doing this winter at all, Shepard said.

The affected trails will remain open if possible. Shepard also notes that the alpine summit of Hoodoo will afford a view of the devastation caused by the fire.

Shepard credits the prompt professionalism of the various fire crews deployed in the area as well as a new water system at the Hoodoo Ski Area for saving not only the ski area but the surrounding cabins and forest land.

Shepard was quick to note that the decision for the new water system was not his brain-child, but rather a permit requirement for the new lodge construction project. He said the self-filling, gravity-fed, 50,000-gallon system allowed the fire tenders to shuttle water to the fire equipment in the area very quickly. Where water would normally have to be drawn from Big Lake, the truck could fill off the Hoodoo system and save not only the drive time but also the pumping time to refill.

Additionally, Hoodoo had completed its summer grooming of the ski area, removing much of the small timber and brush and creating a fire break that slowed and turned the fire away from the ski area.

None of the leased cabins or any Hoodoo structures were lost in the fire.

Hoodoo Recreation Services was not as lucky. Of the 1,500 camp sites managed by Hoodoo, 500 sites were closed by the fire. Shepard estimated $100,000 income loss due to the closures.

The B&B Complex Fire was just one of three destructive fires that affected Hoodoo. The Link and Fall Creek fires also interrupted Hoodoo business, but not during the busy Labor Day holiday.

Shepard says he expects most of the campgrounds to be open next summer, and the fire damage should be mostly unnoticeable within the campgrounds. Exceptions are the Round Lake and Fall Creek camping areas. Shepard expects the Round Lake campground to be closed indefinitely. The Fall Creek Campground was damaged during the Fall Creek Fire and use for the 2004 season is yet to be determined by the Forest Service.

Shepard says even after the fire he hopes people will continue to visit the Hoodoo area. According to Shepard, people who haven't been to Hoodoo in a while will be amazed by the "world-class lodge and new ski lifts with no lift lines.

Hoodoo also has a new tubing area that boasts green, blue and black runs up to 800 feet in length, and a lift to get tubers back to the top. Hoodoo will also maintain a sledding area this season. The sledding area is open to sleds only (no inner tubes due to liability).

The sledding area has a $5 cost; rental sleds are available. Parking is free in the Hoodoo parking lot for all Hoodoo patrons. Additionally, Hoodoo will also offer a bus shuttle from Bend to Hoodoo and back -- with stops in Sisters -- on weekends and holidays this winter. Times and locations are still being arranged.

Hoodoo Ski Area is hoping to open the week before Thanksgiving. Visit www.hoodoo.com.

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