Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

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kepPNW
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by kepPNW » July 23rd, 2017, 6:27 am

sgyoung wrote:That's disappointing news. The last update I saw from the GRGFS said the fire was under control as of July 14th. Is this a different fire that has since picked up in intensity?
Classic mismanagement, again, by MHNF. They let it smolder for two weeks, until we got a huge wind 7/19, and POOF! It's raging now. Watched the plume spread out and obliterate the entire northern view from McNeil yesterday.
Karl
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sgyoung
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by sgyoung » July 23rd, 2017, 10:16 am

kepPNW wrote:
sgyoung wrote:That's disappointing news. The last update I saw from the GRGFS said the fire was under control as of July 14th. Is this a different fire that has since picked up in intensity?
Classic mismanagement, again, by MHNF. They let it smolder for two weeks, until we got a huge wind 7/19, and POOF! It's raging now. Watched the plume spread out and obliterate the entire northern view from McNeil yesterday.
Got it. Thanks for the update. That's pretty frustrating.

That said, I'm also not an expert on fire management; perhaps they let it smolder to burn off some underbrush with the hope that it would be beneficial in the long run. The inciweb overview kind of implies this was the strategy, in part due to the terrain. That seems like a bad idea in late July, even in a wet year, but I have no idea really.

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drm
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by drm » July 24th, 2017, 2:38 pm

So this fire appears to have started on July 4 at or near 7.5 Mile camp. What are the chances that it was a campfire? Officially the cause is unknown.

Letting fires in wilderness that are not threatening property smolder or burn out on their own is generally official policy, but I think only when they are known to be of natural origin. I think they are supposed to fight fires that people cause more aggressively in most cases.

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kepPNW
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by kepPNW » July 24th, 2017, 3:17 pm

drm wrote:So this fire appears to have started on July 4 at or near 7.5 Mile camp. What are the chances that it was a campfire? Officially the cause is unknown.
Unofficially, it's rather acknowledged to have been fireworks, though. Here's a photo (taken 7/4, posted 7/5) of it burning when it was about the size of a large campfire. It's directly across the creek just above Twister Falls. A place I've never seen people. Between the date and the location, there seems to be little room to even speculate anything else... Certainly nothing natural.
Karl
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walkin62
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by walkin62 » July 25th, 2017, 8:58 pm

Letting fires in wilderness that are not threatening property smolder or burn out on their own is generally official policy, but I think only when they are known to be of natural origin. I think they are supposed to fight fires that people cause more aggressively in most cases.
The first thing that management considers in any fire situation is the safety of the people they send in to fight the fire. Supposedly this fire is on a 75% slope, which in terms of fire running upslope or debris rolling downslope, this isn't safe for anyone on the ground. Currently this is why they have initially resorted to water drops as the primary way to deal with this for now.

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Derwood
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by Derwood » July 27th, 2017, 7:46 am

kepPNW wrote:
drm wrote:So this fire appears to have started on July 4 at or near 7.5 Mile camp. What are the chances that it was a campfire? Officially the cause is unknown.
Unofficially, it's rather acknowledged to have been fireworks, though. Here's a photo (taken 7/4, posted 7/5) of it burning when it was about the size of a large campfire. It's directly across the creek just above Twister Falls. A place I've never seen people. Between the date and the location, there seems to be little room to even speculate anything else... Certainly nothing natural.
Spontaneous Chimpmunk Combustion?

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drm
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by drm » July 27th, 2017, 8:52 am

Derwood wrote:Spontaneous Chimpmunk Combustion?
I guess it depends on what you feed them.

jfleming72
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by jfleming72 » August 1st, 2017, 11:52 am

Still closed?

Webfoot
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by Webfoot » August 1st, 2017, 2:57 pm

Yes.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/5403/37211/ wrote: Indian Creek Fire Update

Tuesday, August 1, 2017 10:00 a.m.

The Pacific Crest Trail is still open, but a closure is in effect for other recreation sites near the fire. The northern portion of Eagle Creek Trail #440 off of Interstate 84 is open, but it is closed within the boundaries of the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. Punchbowl Falls is accessible, but Tunnel Falls is inside the closure. Forest Road 1310 is closed, along with Wahtum Lake and Indian Springs Campgrounds. Water is available for PCT hikers at Indian Springs but no camping is allowed within the closure area. PCT hikers may camp at Benson Plateau or in dispersed locations along the PCT. A map and full listing of closures can be found in the websites below.

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naturallog
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Re: Eagle Creek Trail (Gorge) Closed by Fire (July 5)

Post by naturallog » August 1st, 2017, 5:58 pm

Also from the InciWeb, a small silver lining: it appears to have been in smolder status for some days now. Let's see how it holds up this week.

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