Fish and Wildlife: Placement of rusty wire that injured dirt biker was not intentional

PEND OREILLE COUNTY, Wash. —  A post on Facebook about a man injured by a wire near No Name Lake campground has gone viral. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is clarifying what happened and how the placing of the wire wasn’t intentional.

On April 25 around 4:25 p.m., wildlife officers rushed to a private road near the campground. According to Ofc. Severin Erickson, two men were on dirt bikes and went around a closed gate through the closed campground. The campground has been closed to vehicles, including dirt bikes for three years.

The men went onto a private road on private property. Severin said the previous landowner had a cable gate across the road, blocking access. According to the officer, it’s been there for at least 11 years and said it’s “old and rusty.”

The man, in his 30s, told the officer that he was going 30 mph up the private road. He hit the cable gate. It broke and came off one side of the tree.

“It was an unfortunate accident,” Severin said.

The man suffered a massive cut to his neck, requiring immediate care at a local hospital.

According to Severin, they were committing a criminal violation. However, he said no ticket was written because they “were dealing with a lot worse stuff.” They were given a warning.

Other dirt bikes are possibly in the area, Severin said. He noticed tracks in the same area as well as another lake.

When asked about the intentional placing of the wire and talk about it on social media, Severin said “it’s all rumors.”

For landowners in the area, Severin recommends having flags, signage or something visible on their gates.

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