Jefferson is on fire...

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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teperilloux
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Jefferson is on fire...

Post by teperilloux » July 24th, 2017, 2:08 pm

My friend just took this pic from 26 heading back to pdx. Looks to be west of Jefferson Park Ridge. This should ruin a lot of eclipse plans for sure. Looks like it's not in the park at the moment.
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Last edited by teperilloux on July 24th, 2017, 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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teperilloux
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by teperilloux » July 24th, 2017, 2:12 pm

Just before going out of range she said there are 2 stacks now and getting bigger rapidly. Dang it!

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kepPNW
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by kepPNW » July 24th, 2017, 4:55 pm

Couple of media reports:
And an aerial photo, courtesy of the PortlandHikers Facebook page:
  • Image
    Credit: Melissa Schwartz
Karl
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mattisnotfrench
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by mattisnotfrench » July 24th, 2017, 8:18 pm

It's likely up on the ridge above Wild Cheat Meadow, somewhere between Triangulation Peak and Jefferson Park. Given the trails WNF closed, I'd say it's somewhere in the rugged terrain near Wild Cheat. This is unfortunate, as this is some of the most scenic terrain in the entire Mount Jefferson Wilderness, and some of the least-known. Most hikers go to Triangulation or Jeff Park without bothering to check out the terrain in between.

It's somewhere on this ridge:

Image

This is Wild Cheat Meadow:

Image

The trail along the ridge above Wild Cheat Meadow:

Image

Hopefully this gets contained before any of these beautiful places see too much damage.
Author of Extraordinary Oregon!, PDX Hiking 365, 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region, and Off the Beaten Trail. Website: www.offthebeatentrailpdx.com

justpeachy
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by justpeachy » July 25th, 2017, 6:00 am

Wondering what caused this. There haven't been any thunderstorms in the area, have there?

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teperilloux
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by teperilloux » July 25th, 2017, 9:18 am

There's been a red flag warning for much of the central cascades for at least the last few days. With no rain and continued winds in the forecast, I hope they get a handle on this quickly.

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jessbee
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by jessbee » July 26th, 2017, 4:01 pm

justpeachy wrote:Wondering what caused this. There haven't been any thunderstorms in the area, have there?
I just saw an article that said it was from a month-old lightning strike (no idea how they can figure that out). We just had some crazy lightning in Bend today, but not much rain so hopefully no new blazes get started up :/
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greenjello85
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by greenjello85 » July 27th, 2017, 3:21 pm

jessbee wrote: I just saw an article that said it was from a month-old lightning strike (no idea how they can figure that out). We just had some crazy lightning in Bend today, but not much rain so hopefully no new blazes get started up :/
I don't think they should be fighting this if it's lightning caused, especially in a wilderness area. Healthy forests need fires, even ones we all enjoy hiking.

pdxgene
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by pdxgene » July 31st, 2017, 11:46 am

If this isn't already going somewhere else too.... ALL access to the park is closed as well as the PCT thru there.
http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon- ... rson-park/

Chazz
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Re: Jefferson is on fire...

Post by Chazz » July 31st, 2017, 12:45 pm

That's going to suck for PCT thru-hikers. It's getting to be prime season now for the bulk of them going through Oregon, though the snow in the High Sierra's may have delayed the main bubble by a couple weeks.

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