Authorities have closed a wide swath of popular campgrounds and backpacking areas along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington as they search for a former Army soldier wanted in the deaths of his three young daughters.

Travis Decker is a former member of the military who has enough wilderness survival skills to live in the woods on his own for weeks or months, the authorities said.

National Guard assets are being deployed in Washington state to expand the search for Travis Decker, who is accused of killing his three young daughters, Gov. Bob Ferguson, D-Wash., confirmed Saturday.