Fort reschedules tour lost to shutdown

With the reopening of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, the staff has announced some schedule changes to make up for events lost because of the recent 16-day closure.

The park’s first Lantern Tour of the season has been rescheduled for Oct. 26, with priority placement for those with reservations for the originally scheduled tour. The Oct. 5 Lantern Tour had been booked to capacity before it was canceled.

“We’re again calling each individual or group who had reserved a spot on the Oct. 5 Lantern Tour,” Chief Ranger Greg Shine said, “but this time our message is a more positive one: We’re offering them priority placement for the newly added Lantern Tour on Oct. 26. We’ll open to the general public any additional tour spots for the Oct. 26 Lantern Tour once the visitors impacted by the cancellation of the Oct. 5 Lantern Tour have been given the opportunity to sign up.”

Due to public interest, the new Lantern Tour will replace the “Tales of the Engagé” talk originally scheduled for that day.

Along with the 400 other units of the National Park Service, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site was closed on Oct. 1 because of the lapse in Congressional appropriations.

Park staff members have begun contacting schools, groups and individuals to reschedule activities canceled by the shutdown.

“We look forward to rescheduling as many as possible,” Shine said.

For information, go to www.nps.gov/fova or call 360-816-6230.