Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center is a non-profit based out of Entiat, Washington St. Helens on the Gifford Pinchot NF).

The interpretive center began with the desire to save an old Forest Service fire lookout, by bringing it down from the mountains to an accessible spot along a well-traveled highway. In 1990, Nancy Belt, an assistant fire dispatcher for the Wenatchee National Forest, planted the seed for the project by earning a grant from the Forest Service to study the feasibility of the idea. As she gathered information and support for her proposal, the idea grew into much broader dream. With time and exposure, a foundation was formed and the vision expanded to that of a world-class fire interpretive center that would interpret the ecological role of fire and showcase the interactions of people with fire. With strong public support, the concept has flared to reality as the Columbia breaks Fire Interpretive Center continues to develop. To date:


firetower 17 ½ acres of land has been purchased. firetower Three lookouts: Chelan Butte, Badger Mountain, and East Flattop Lookout (East Flattop Lookout is a one-of-a-kind structure modeled after a lookout once located SW of Mt. All these lookouts have been moved to the site and restored. firetower An amphitheater with a portable stage. firetower An educational curriculum and video for teachers, along with a one-day training session, has been developed. firetower One informational kiosk has been built at the site, and another is near completion. firetower A 1/3 mile fire interpretive trail with informational signs about fire ecology, plant ecology, fire behavior, fire history, fire management, and people’s interactions with fire. firetower A 30’ X 60’ picnic/meeting shelter that will eventually be converted to a display center.

10/01/2026

They say it’s not work when you love what you do. 🚁😎

A couple pilots, one S-61N, and probably the coolest office around.

Work hard. Lift heavy loads. Enjoy the ride.

10/01/2026

🪵45 years in the woods. His first boots that actually fit.

Brook has spent his life in forestry, from hazardous tree removal to milling old-growth redwood. After a disaster storm in Arnold, California, the importance of properly fitting boots became impossible to ignore.

“First boots that fit me.

I live in the central California foothills. My business has always been forestry. 45 years min, I help run a hazardous tree removal and milling company. Through Arnold Californias disaster storm this February, I learned the importance of good properly fitting boots That are actually your size! 2 months in the redwoods I got have made life easier everyday. After reclamation of old growth redwood and milling my whole life I find it ironic that the only ready to ship boots you had were REDWOODS” - Brooke S.

We’ll call that one a pretty fitting coincidence.

10/01/2026

"The study demonstrates that 3D fuel characterizations can provide consistently scaled and labeled datasets for model training and evaluation. More specifically, machine learning models can be used to parse 3D point clouds collected from ALS, TLS, and SfM photogrammetry into fuel objects and metrics. Calibration with field plots will allow our hierarchically scaled datasets to be used as the foundation for synthetic fuelbed mapping, starting with fine-scale objects such as individual shrubs or downed wood and scaling to vegetation patches and operational burn units." 🔥

Read more in "Hierarchically scaled remote sensing and field datasets for three-dimensional wildland fuel characterization" by Susan J. Prichard, Deborah G. Nemens, Eric Rowell, Jonathan L. Batchelor, Michelle S. Bester, Benjamin C. Bright, Gina R. Cova, James B. Cronan, Brian Drye, Andrew T. Hudak, Paige C. Eagle, Maureen C. Kennedy, E. Louise Loudermilk, Hannah E. Redford, Russell A. Parsons, Carlos A. Silva, Nicholas S. Skowronski, and Jessie Thoreson in the Journal https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42408-026-00507-2

10/01/2026

Highly skilled firefighters are the last line of defense against wildfires, but that line is fraying because the government decided long ago that they’re not worth very much

10/01/2026
10/01/2026
10/01/2026
06/19/2026

🚒 Northwoods Community Update

We have received many questions from residents about how to safely clean up fire retardant on their properties following the Upriver Fire.

To help answer those questions, we are sharing an updated cleanup guide outlining recommended cleaning methods for various materials and surfaces. We hope this information provides a helpful starting point as residents begin the cleanup process.

Please review the information and share it with your neighbors so everyone in the affected areas has access to the latest guidance.

Thank you for your patience and continued support as our community moves through the recovery process.

Address

POBox 644, 15212 US # 97A
Entiat, WA
98822

Telephone

+15096704875

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center:

Shortcuts

Share

Category