CLE ELUM , Wash. — Forest Service officials have reopened a 6.5-mile section of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.

Authorities with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest had closed that part of the popular trail last summer for public safety, after the Lemah Fire burned more than 700 acres about four miles north of Kachess Lake.

Officials feared burned trees could fall on hikers and horseback riders or lead to erosion, according to a Forest Service news release issued today.

The closure order also cut off access to Spectacle Lake, a popular destination along the trail.

Detours had been available — one for hikers, one for horses — for the portion of the 2,650-mile trail that runs along the crest of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountains between the borders of Mexico and Canada.

National Forest wilderness rangers worked with a Northwest Youth Corps crew for four weeks to stabilize the fire- and rain-damaged portions of the trail, replacing bridge timbers and cutting down hazard trees.

-- Ross Courtney