JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Bridger-Teton National Forest has issued a temporary area closure in the Beaver Mountain area adjacent to Wyoming Hwy 189 and the Bryan Flat Guard Station during its annual helicopter short haul training. The temporary closure is necessary for the protection of public safety during the training due to the hazards associated with low flying helicopters and human external cargo.
The closure is effective June 5 at 7:00am. It encompasses the west side of Beaver Mountain and areas in Section 9 north of the Willow Creek Trail. Willow Creek Trail and Trailhead will remain open. The closure will remain in effect until the short haul training is complete. It is expected the training will concluded at 5:00pm on June 11.
In 2015, the US Forest Service (USFS) launched a short-haul program, which involves transporting personnel suspended beneath a helicopter. Short-haul qualified helitack crews’ primary mission will continue to be of support to fire management operations, but if needed they could be diverted to a short-haul incident.
The USFS plans to only use short-haul when someone has a “life and/or a loss of limb threatening injury or other medical complications that warrant prompt extraction,” or if a conventional rescue operation would expose rescue personnel or patients to a higher degree of risk.
