Christmas tree cutting permits for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest go on sale Nov. 21, according to a statement released Wednesday by the forest service.

The $5-per-tree permits allow tree hunters to cut trees in specified areas of the national forest. Permits will be available at all ranger districts and forest headquarters in Vancouver. Some vendors, including Elbe Grocery and several locations in Ashford and Randle, will also sell permits.

The forest service warns tree hunters to be prepared for snowfall. Snowfall could also limit access and available trees. Road conditions are available at the ranger stations.

Wilderness areas, campgrounds, administrations sits, areas within 300 feet of streams, private land and the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument are closed to tree cutting.
Tree permits are not refundable.

Forest service officials recommend tree hunting early in the day to avoid traveling at night. They also recommend carrying tire chains, a shovel, flashlights, a blanket and extra food and beverages.

To be safe treat the trip like any other hiking trip into the outdoors. Let a friend or family member know your itinerary including where you will be cutting trees and when you will return.

For more information, including a complete list of permit vendors, visit www.Fs.fed.us/gpnf.

Access to all but the northeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park will be closed Thursday because flood waters have cut two primary access routes.

Park officials Wednesday afternoon announced the road from the Nisqually entrance to Longmire would remain closed because Kautz Creek continues to pour over the roadway. The road was closed Wednesday morning when at least six inches of water covered the most traveled road in the park.

Also Wednesday afternoon, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced that Highway 123 on the park’s east side will be closed for 24 hours. Several culverts along the road were overflowing.

Flooding on the road to Longmire was caused by another diversion in Kautz Creek. The creek has diverted down a rock channel and was running over the road more than a 1/4 mile east of the Kautz Creek bridge.

Staffers were on site Wednesday assessing the situation, said Donna Rahier, park spokeswoman. The road will remain closed today, even if it stops raining, so crews can check the roadway for damage.

During the historic November 2006 flood, the creek’s flow was diverted about 1 mile upstream from the bridge. As a result, the creek flooded the road about a 1/4 miles east of the bridge. Two sets of culverts were installed at the creek’s new intersection with the road.

Water from this storm was running through those culverts, but a stream blockage was sending the water over the road east of the culverts.

Only Highway 410 in the northeast corner of the park remains open. In the northwest corner, the Carbon River Road has been closed since the 2006 flood.

To check on park road conditions, call 360-569-2211.

Mount Rainier National Park’s Nisqually entrance is closed right now because water is flowing over the road near Kautz Creek. The road, the most traveled in the park, is expected to be closed all day, said park spokeswoman Donna Rahier.

The culverts east of the Kautz Creek bridge were not full of water, but the creek has diverted down the rock channel and is running over the road farther east of the culverts. There is about six inches of water on the road.

The stream flow has diverted somewhere upstream. Staffers are on site right now assessing the situation, Rahier said.

“There is a lot of water flowing through (the culverts), but they are not overflowing,” Rahier said.

The culverts were installed following the November 2006 flood when the creek was diverted about 1 mile upstream from the bridge.

There were seven guests at the National Park Inn at Longmire Tuesday night. Park rangers escorted these visitors from the park via Skate Creek Road, a route providing administrative access to the park.