If a PCT section hike or a long weekend at Lake Kachess was on the calendar, it isn’t anymore. The Forest Service’s Three Queens Fire closure order shuts down the Cle Elum Ranger District — 34 trails, 30 roads, 21 developed recreation sites, and a 50-mile stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail — through Oct. 31 unless conditions let officials lift it sooner.

We’ve covered wildfire closures piling up this month across the Cascades and the Owyhee high desert — Little Giant near Leavenworth and Big Grass in the Owyhee Canyonlands among them. This one’s different. Those closures took day-hike terrain off the table. Three Queens takes out the actual thru-hiking corridor, right as fall PCT section-hiking season with dogs is supposed to ramp up, and it’s evacuated two of the most reliable dog-swimming lakes in the state.

Quick Verdict: What’s Happening and What to Do

Detail	What You Need to Know
Fire size	~3,700 acres and roughly 2% contained as of Aug. 17-18, 2026
Started	July 15, lightning strike, near Kachess Lake about six miles from Snoqualmie Pass
Closure order	Effective Aug. 11 through Oct. 31, Cle Elum Ranger District — Order No. 06-17-03-2026-32
What’s closed	34 trails, 30 forest roads, 21 developed recreation sites
PCT impact	~50 miles closed, Snoqualmie Pass (mile 2396.5) to Deception Pass (mile 2446)
Evacuations	Level 3 “Go Now” around Kachess Campground and the lake’s east shore; Level 2 and Level 1 zones extending south and toward Cooper Lake
Your dog, today	No PCT section hikes through this stretch, no Kachess or Cle Elum Lake trips, full stop until the order lifts

Why This One Hits Different

Every wildfire closure we’ve written about this month has been some version of “your favorite day-hike loop is off-limits, go somewhere else.” Three Queens isn’t that. It’s cut the actual footpath. Fifty miles of the PCT, gone, right in the window when people with dogs are trying to knock out Washington sections before fall weather closes the door for the year. There’s no “hike the parallel trail instead” here — for that stretch between Snoqualmie Pass and Deception Pass, the PCT is the trail.

And it didn’t just take the trail. It took the two lakes most people default to for the reward at the end of a hot August hike. Kachess and Cle Elum are the kind of lakes where a dog gets to actually swim — not creek-wade, swim — after a dusty approach. Losing PCT access for section hikers is one problem. Losing the swimming lakes for everybody else driving I-90 for a weekend is a separate, bigger one. Three Queens managed both at once.

What Started It and Where It Stands

The fire started July 15 from a lightning strike near Kachess Lake, roughly six miles from Snoqualmie Pass, and it’s been a slow, stubborn burn in steep terrain ever since — the kind of fire that doesn’t blow up overnight but doesn’t go away either. By Aug. 17-18 it had grown to roughly 3,700 acres with containment sitting around 2%, according to Apple Valley News Now. That’s not a fire on the verge of being wrapped up. Crews have used recent rain to reinforce control lines and chase hotspots, per Yakima Herald-Republic, but single-digit containment on steep ground means the closure order isn’t lifting on optimism. Check InciWeb’s Three Queens Fire page before any trip near the Cle Elum Ranger District — acreage and containment are both snapshots, not fixed numbers.

What the Closure Order Actually Covers

The Forest Service’s closure order — Order No. 06-17-03-2026-32 — took effect Aug. 11 and runs through Oct. 31 across the Cle Elum Ranger District. It prohibits entry onto National Forest System lands within the closure boundary: no hiking, no driving in on closed roads, no off-road travel, nothing. In total it covers:

• 34 trails, including the Pacific Crest Trail, Rachel Lake Trail, Pete Lake Trail, and Mineral Creek Trail
• 30 Forest Service roads, restricting vehicle access throughout the closure area
• 21 developed recreation sites, among them Kachess Campground, Owhi Campground, Red Mountain Campground, Salmon la Sac Campground, Cle Elum River Campground, Cayuse Campground, Fish Lake Campground, and Wish Poosh Campground

The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest’s companion order covers the PCT closure and reroute specifically, since the trail crosses forest boundaries in this stretch.

Is the Pacific Crest Trail Closed at Snoqualmie Pass?

Yes. Roughly 50 miles of the PCT are closed between Snoqualmie Pass (mile 2396.5) and Deception Pass (mile 2446), according to The Trek. Access trails feeding into that corridor from the east — Mineral Creek Trail #1331, Pete Lake Trail #1323, and Deception Pass Trail #1376 — are closed too, so there’s no side-door around the closure. If you’re planning a Washington PCT section hike with a dog before the fall weather window shuts, this segment isn’t available, and there’s no realistic detour that keeps you on trail the whole way.

Evacuations Around Kachess and Cle Elum Lakes

This isn’t a “smoke is bad, maybe skip it” closure. People are actively being told to leave. The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office has evacuation levels active around Lake Kachess:

• Level 3 “Go Now” — Kachess Campground, the area north of it, and Forest Service Road 4818 along the lake’s east shore
• Level 2 “Get Set” — cabins off Baker Lane immediately south of Kachess Campground
• Level 1 “Be Ready” — homes along Via Kachess Road south of Kachess Lake Road

Homes and cabins around Cooper Lake are also under evacuation notices, per KPQ. The public closure separately covers the land surrounding all of Lake Kachess and the western and southern sides of Lake Cle Elum, so even outside the residential evacuation zones, the lakeshore access most people use for a dog swim is off-limits under the Forest Service order, not just under evacuation advisory.

What to Actually Do If You Had a Trip Planned

• Don’t try to piece together a workaround on the PCT. With the access trails also closed, there’s no legal way to skirt this section on foot. Push the section hike to next season or pick a different segment entirely.
• Cancel the Kachess or Cle Elum Lake trip outright, not just reroute around the campground. The closure covers the surrounding public land, not just the developed sites — there isn’t a legal lakeshore access point left inside the order.
• If you’re driving I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass, that’s still fine — the highway isn’t closed. It’s what you’d pull off onto that’s the problem.
• Watch smoke and air quality even outside the closure boundary. A slow, smoldering fire in steep terrain still pushes smoke into nearby valleys on the wrong wind day. Our wildfire smoke and AQI guide covers what to check before your dog is breathing it.
• If your dog was carrying gear for the section hike, don’t let a canceled trip mean the pack sits unused all fall. Our multi-day backpacking guide and backpacking pack roundup are worth a look if you’re pivoting to a different overnight route instead.
• Carry a way to confirm your own location if you reroute into unfamiliar backcountry. Same logic as our GPS collar guide — know where you are, not just where your dog is.
• Don’t leave a dog in a parked car while you sort out plan B at a rerouted trailhead. Closure detours eat time, and August heat doesn’t pause for logistics. Our hot car guide covers how fast that turns dangerous.
• Call ahead if you’re not sure a specific trailhead or road is inside the line. The Cle Elum Ranger District can confirm current status at 509-852-1100.

Where Else to Swim or Hike With Your Dog Instead

If Kachess or Cle Elum Lake was the destination specifically for the swimming, there isn’t a true like-for-like inside the closure zone — that’s most of the reliable dog-swimming water on this stretch of I-90. Lakes further from the fire perimeter along the Snoqualmie or Skykomish corridors are the better bet for the rest of this season, but check current conditions before you commit; smoke drifts further than closure boundaries do. If dog swimming safety is new territory for you regardless of which lake you land on, that’s worth a read before a first open-water trip.

For PCT section hikers specifically, the honest answer is there isn’t a substitute segment that replicates Snoqualmie-to-Deception Pass. Pick a different section of the trail outside the closure, or bank this one for next year.

Bottom Line

The Three Queens Fire has burned roughly 3,700 acres with containment still around 2%, and the Forest Service’s Aug. 11 closure order takes a big piece of the Cle Elum Ranger District off the map through Oct. 31 — 34 trails, 30 roads, 21 recreation sites, and 50 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail between Snoqualmie Pass and Deception Pass. Evacuations are active around Kachess Campground and extend toward Cooper Lake, and the broader closure covers the shoreline of both Kachess and Cle Elum Lakes even where evacuation orders don’t directly reach.

If a PCT section or a Kachess weekend was the plan, it isn’t this season. Check the closure order and InciWeb before you drive out — single-digit containment on steep terrain this late in the summer isn’t a fire that resolves itself in a week.

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Fire acreage and containment from Apple Valley News Now and Yakima Herald-Republic, current as of Aug. 17-18, 2026. Closure order details from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. PCT mile-marker details from The Trek. Evacuation zone details from KPQ. Check current fire status at InciWeb before any trip through the Cle Elum Ranger District — containment, acreage, and closure boundaries can shift within a single day.