Valley County commissioners hosted a workshop and public hearing on Jan. 12 to collect public input on Warm Lake Summit access after the recent South Fork road washout. Dozens of residents, recreation advocates and business owners told commissioners they want to preserve winter public access while balancing safety concerns and potential mitigation needs.

Multiple speakers described economic impacts and safety worries. Brian Patterson, who operates Air Mountain Power Sport Rentals in Cascade, said temporary short closures for truck traffic "doesn't sound like a bad idea for an hour or 2 here and there," but warned that longer detours or restrictions would hurt his business and put riders off long alternate routes. Deadwood Outfitters general manager Sean Zimmerman said businesses were surprised by social-media posts suggesting closures and urged clearer, county-led communication about access and parking.

Recreation groups including the Valley County Groomer Advisory Board and the West Central Uphill Alliance urged keeping uphill and foot access from the Landmark/triangle area and warned that moving a gate closer to lodges would harm backcountry access. Mark Wood of the Groomer Board asked that if the road must be plowed it be left in a surface condition that allows snowmobiles and skiers to continue to access backcountry terrain: "Let the road be plowed with a snow floor ... so a snowmobile could still go up," he said.

County staff read a Payette National Forest post saying the forest "has no plans of repairing [the South Fork road] this winter" and that the slide is a major landslide; the post said people can access the road up to the landslide near Poverty Campground (reported in the transcript at about mile marker 12). County staff also corrected misinformation circulating online: the county said only the sheriff (with commissioners' sign-off in some instances) can formally close county roads and companies may not unilaterally close them.

Road director Kristen told the public the roads department is "working with Perpetua actively and dynamically every day" on plowing, signage, temporary construction and interim parking. She said the Landmark Triangle is currently plowed for recreational traffic, additional parking has been carved out, crews are patching potholes when conditions allow and the department is consulting Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) practices for avalanche corridor management.

Speakers recommended better, county-controlled information channels (CodeRED, county website and social media) and independent avalanche forecasting to avoid perceived conflicts of interest. Several speakers requested more clarity about parking at the summit and whether businesses could get special access for supply runs; staff said those details remain under discussion.

Commissioners stressed this meeting was for public input and that no formal decisions were made at the workshop. They announced a 3 p.m. meeting to discuss emergency planning and communications. Staff urged recreational users to "know before you go" and to use county emergency-notification tools.