Extent of damage to Camp Sekani unclear, mountain biking community pivot to fundraiser for fire victims

It's not clear how badly Camp Sekani was damaged in the Upriver fire that ignited Tuesday, but the prognosis isn't bright. The entirety of the park will remain closed to the public for the time being, with city crews working on installing signs along the numerous entry points warning people to turn back.

Current fire lines show that the blaze passed through most of the upper park, including all of the mountain bike trails, but the degree of damage remains to be seen, said Spokane Parks Director Garrett Jones. The city parks department has worked with the state Department of Natural Resources and the Spokane Fire Department to lessen fire risks on Spokane parkland, including Camp Sekani.

"But when you look at the sustained winds and strong gusts, a lot of that is out the window," Jones said. "Some of the pictures show the fire has gotten into the crowns, but it also depends on how hot it burned, how fast it moved ... we haven't had boots on the ground to see."

What is clear is that the fire impacted more acres of city park land than any other in Jones' memory. The fire appears to have avoided any of the park's structures or parking lot, but the trail system appears to have been hit hard.

Camp Sekani is one of the jewels in the Spokane park system, seeing some of the most intensive outdoor recreation of any city park, Jones said. It hosts a particularly vibrant mountain biking community led by the Eastern Washington chapter of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, or Evergreen East, which helps maintain and build biking trails.

"We're extremely grateful for the work and efforts put in by all the first responders to protect the land and property in Camp Sekani and the adjacent neighborhoods," wrote Evergreen East President Melinda DuPree. "Our hearts go out to those who lost their homes."

The organization is working to get the word out to the mountain biking community to stay out of the park while fire crews continue their work, DuPree added.

Spokotopia, an annual mountain biking event on Beacon Hill that helps raise money for Evergreen East's operations, was set to take place Saturday and has been canceled.

It would have been insensitive to move the event to another park and try to continue on as though the neighborhood wasn't being devastated by the fire, said Kacey Deakins, co-owner of Solnix, a bike shop and host organization for Spokotopia.

Instead, the shop will host a fundraising barbecue, beer and outdoor movie night in the Solnix parking lot, with proceeds donated to the Red Cross in the hopes of helping the families displaced by the fire. The event will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

"We're sad about the trails, because that place is close to our hearts, but the reality is people losing their homes is far more awful," Deakins said.

Once the fire has been put out, partners from the city, state and elsewhere will evaluate how extensive the damage to Camp Sekani is and what work needs to be done to make the area safe for the public again, Jones said. There's also no wildfire restoration line item in the parks department budget, Jones added, so finding funding for that work will be another task to add to the pile.

Camp Sekani started as a Boy Scout camp originally called the Upriver Training Camp in 1920. The name changed to Camp Sekani in 1926 after an indigenous word that means "dwellers of the rocks," according to a Spokesman-Review article about the name change. Sekani also is the name of an indigenous tribe in Canada.

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 7:16 PM.