While we were away in Oregon there was a fire in Auburn that significantly damaged the Culvert trail. I’ve heard that the trail is still rideable but there is significant damage due primarily to the bulldozers cutting fire breaks.
Update: I haven’t checked this out yet but it sounds like the damage to the trail was only minor in the area near the culvert.
Having ridden the trail twice now after the fire, I must say it’s not that bad. More than anything, it’s just sad to see things like this happen. I thought it was pretty cool that they used some of the trail as a way to access the danger areas of the fire though. Probably helped them (Firefighters) out a lot.
I’ve ridden the trail too since the fire. While the trail is torn up some, it mostly made traction worse because of the loose dirt caused by the firefighting equipment. (Yes, I fell.)
Thanks for the comments. I’ve heard from a few other people who have ridden there as well and the consensus seems to be that the damage is minimal. When I first heard the story someone told me the trail was thrashed and unrideable. Obviously not the case.