Bumping 356 Closure for Military Operations

[yakimanoob]

FYI to anyone hunting or recreating in the Bumping GMU 356:

A Navy F/A-18 Growler crashed in the area last week and there is a (massive) recovery operation underway. The two aviators flying the jet tragically passed away, and the areas involved in the recovery of the jet and crew are closed. Please be respectful of the very difficult job that the Navy has on its hand here and stay clear of the area.

Tribute to the fallen aviators:
https://www.facebook.com/NASWhidbeyIsland/posts/pfbid02c2RhEGSgTeRy7E55tM4xutSicodwjbdndy53jFZGKyLfH1BFEFkdX8CxPfptT6Z1l

Closure Order:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1211491.pdf

Closure Map:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1211492.pdf


Thanks all, and fair winds and following seas to the fallen.

[pianoman9701]

That seems like a very big area to close off for a crash site. Almost 20 miles by 2.5. 

[Boss .300 winmag]

Now that they know the crash site is the only place that has any hardware they’ll open up the areas that aren’t needed to be searched. But then again the Navy doesn’t know about hunting seasons either.

Maybe some pressure from hunters that want to hunt there can contact the Forest Service office.

[CarbonHunter]

Very sad for the families of the 2 women who lost their lives.

I was curious where the plane went down since I didn’t see any crash sites on the news articles so thanks for posting.

[yakimanoob]

Very sad for the families of the 2 women who lost their lives.

I was curious where the plane went down since I didn’t see any crash sites on the news articles so thanks for posting.

Yeah, they were very cagey about the location, for obvious reasons. The last thing they need is looky-loos or scavengers (to put it kindly) complicating the already monumental task.