Opening of Cougar Hot Springs brings reminders on safety going forward

LANE COUNTY, Ore. - After damage from last year's Terwilliger Fire in Blue River, the Cougar Hot Springs will open just in time for the Fourth of July.

It's a popular destination for many.

“We get calls 20, 30, 40 calls a day to our front desk asking if they can come to the hot springs,” says Darren Cross with the U.S. Forest Service.

He says it's been a long road to reviving the trail leading up to the Terwilliger Hot Springs and Forest Service Road 19.

“We've replaced all these railings and then the toilet was up there were putting a new toilet up there by the end of this week,” he says.

The springs have been closed for just under a year, after a near 12,000-acre wildfire sparked up right next to the trail.

“There was cigarettes on the stump, caught fire and then the fire ran basically right up this hill,” he says. “Human start; careless start.”

The U.S. Forest Service closed the area to let winter rain and snow knock down weakened trees to prevent hazards for hikers.

He says, in some areas there's as much as one tree down every 50 feet.

“Some of these large trees like this are hundreds of years old - 300, 400, 500,” he says.

Now, the forest is on its way to regrow. And, as for the hot spring goers, Cross says a few things to keep in mind before it opens on July 1st.

Remember old burns can spark up again.

“The fires will go down into the root system or underground, and they can stay,” he says.

So be sure to keep fire hazards to zero.