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

[retired jerry]

I was just listening to that on radio

"“Even though that kid threw the firecracker, all of those kids he was with are complicit. All of them watched, all of them did nothing. They all were a part of it. One filmed it,” she said. “When I came upon them, and the guy threw the firecracker, I’m pretty sure I heard a couple of them giggle. The guy was filming it like it was another thing to film, no big deal. The whole complacency of that group, I find it so disturbing.”"

I've never been into fireworks much, but I have a time or two. I was one of those young adult men that were giggling, although there were no forest fires involved.

I wonder if the authorities have that video...

[Aimless]

From the OPB news story linked several posts above this (my italics):

"The fire also jumped the Columbia River early Tuesday morning, sparking the 25-acre Archer Mountain Fire."

[squidvicious]

Just bought a house in the Troutdale evac area--fortunately still a couple weeks till we actually close, but yeah, watching the heck out of that situation.

Have to imagine with road access for fire trucks get in to fight in those communities (vs forest high in the gorge), and fire breaks provided by surrounding farms, they'll be able to stop it spreading out that far. I hope.

[Christminster]

The next few years are going to be interesting times for hiking in the Gorge.

After a fire is completely over, like into winter, is there not a threat from weakened trees? Will it have to be closed for a long time?

[Lurch]

will the tunnel collapse if the timbers burn?

Most likely not, they restored that tunnel a few years back but the timbers before that were pretty heavily compromised and it didn't fail (wasn't safe, but didn't fail)...

That said, fires are notorious for destabilizing the terrain, and there are slides coming down as a result of this, and there will most definitely be more. It's going to be awhile before the gorge is remotely stable.

[squidvicious]

If true, then the instagram mentality played a role in all this.

Don't really think you can hang this one on social media. For as long as there have been fireworks and teenage boys, they've been doing stupid things with them. It's only dumb luck that most of them manage to be stupid without killing someone or burning down a city.

[bobcat]

It sounds like there was a fairly large group of young people involved and enjoying it hugely. That would be enough to dole out thousands of hours of community service to each (equivalent to the cost of the devastation, lost revenue, cost of the mop-up) so they can repair all the trails, signs, structures, etc., in the next 5 - 10 years or until the job is done. Let's hope some of the parents are honest enough to turn the rest of them in.

[cfm]

I wonder if Nesika Lodge is included in the historic structures they are trying to protect.

[Derwood]

will the tunnel collapse if the timbers burn?

Most likely not, they restored that tunnel a few years back but the timbers before that were pretty heavily compromised and it didn't fail (wasn't safe, but didn't fail)...

That said, fires are notorious for destabilizing the terrain, and there are slides coming down as a result of this, and there will most definitely be more. It's going to be awhile before the gorge is remotely stable.

While the loss of the tunnel is sad, it's a human-made curiosity. Oneonta Gorge itself has a number of rare plant species that may perish due to the heat. Not sure if the fire will just jump over the top or descend into it. And while it may clear the log jam, the potential source of these logs just multiplied by an order of magnitude assuming a mudslide doesn't fill it in all together.

[Christminster]

I wonder if Nesika Lodge...
Triage is brutal. I wouldn't fault them if they had to pass it up.

Here's a link to an infared view of much of the fire from an airplane yesterday afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8kIlQD1FQQ
I'm still figuring this out, but I think the inserts indicate where the plane is (red triangle pointer) and which way the camera is pointed. For instance, in the first segment the plane is over Tomlike Mtn, and the camera's pointed NW at the head of Eagle Creek and then pans left (west) to survey up the valley.

The second segment, if I read it right, has the plane over Washington, and the camera pans across the head of Benson between Eagle Creek and Cascade locks. And it all looks to have burned. Well, now Ruckel Ridge will have more open views. Always look on the bright side of life!