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

[Charley]

A coworker is 30 miles from the Irma "track".
She's wondering if she will have home two days from now.
Sorry that all of you will miss those Gorge views.

Dude. This is a forum of friends. If you want, feel free to log on to Reddit to flame people and pick fights. Please don't do it here.

[Water]

i've got the flaming on reddit covered, no need.

...but

"Sorry that all of you will miss those gorge views"

????

The views are gonna be bonkers better. Probably can see Adams from way more spots. Just a guess.

[Rather B Hiking]

Anyone who was visiting Tunnel Falls, or doing any kind of loop involving Eagle Creek, on September 2, was doing so illegally. Due to the Indian Creek fire, which had been burning since someone ignited it with fireworks on July 4, Eagle Creek was closed from High Bridge to Wahtum Lake, along with connecting trails Eagle Benson, Indian Springs, Eagle Tanner, Tanner Butte, etc. Several reports from those who were trapped above Punch Bowl have referenced a gate at High Bridge, making it unlikely that anyone would enter the closure area accidentally. Coming from the other direction, information about the closure was posted all over the Gorge.

Technically probably not illegal since the group of 150 was following official (presumably) advice written on a note dropped from a helicopter to assist in evacuation away from the fire downcreek towards the trailhead. Further, they were told the gate would be opened for them by a ranger, but they broke it open while waiting for the ranger to arrive. Probably not a bad idea, given the approaching fire and increasing darkness.

Agreed, the people evacuating did what they had to do. My comment above was a reply to an earlier post that suggested some of the evacuating hikers were probably returning from Tunnel Falls, or were backpackers on one of the loop routes. With the closures from the Indian Creek fire, no one should have been doing either of those things.

[retired jerry]

"A coworker is 30 miles from the Irma "track".
She's wondering if she will have home two days from now.
Sorry that all of you will miss those Gorge views."

I hope your friend does as well as possible under the circumstances.

I hope the fire doesn't impact that area as much as it seems it might. At least there aren't a lot of houses being burned up.

[Bosterson]

I was out in the Gorge today. Good scoping of the damage from Aldrich Butte. Most of what you could see was browned burn areas, rather than outright charred trees; the exception was Munra, which is totally fried up top. Smoke is coming off ridges from Nesmith to Angel's Rest.

Meanwhile, what exactly does this mean, and is it a good thing or something that threatens the strength of the Gorge's wilderness designation? His reference to the "value of the timber" makes me think it's a bad thing. Is "reforestation" something that's even necessary?

[Oregon Republican congressman Greg] Walden, a former chairman of the House Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, said the Gorge’s status as a National Scenic Area means there are barriers to quick reforestation. That’s a problem, he said, because timber with any potential monetary value could end up going to waste if crews can’t begin the work of replanting burned areas quickly.

“What I hear is that if this were state land or county land or private land, the land managers would be in right away,” Walden said. “Too often on our federal lands, the process is such that it could take a year or two, and by that point you’ve lost the value of the timber. And so you lose the financial resource that we need to be able to pay for the restoration work.”

http://www.opb.org/news/article/columbi ... ll-walden/

[Don Nelsen]

The west wind has cleared the air so I headed out to the Gorge today for some views.

Angel's Rest


Much of the area of the fire looks like this though. A mosaic of burned and unburned areas:


Elevator Shaft has partially burned - hope the fire got the poison oak.


Archer Mountain's west prominence has been toasted. A crew is still on site tending to the hot spots and building fire breaks.


Many of the ridgelines on the Oregon side look like this:


Munra really took a hit. At least the views will be better:


Munra from a angle farther to the east:


Looking directly up Horsetail Canyon with Oneonta Canyon on the right.


Close-up of Oneonta Canyon:


The view east from Cape Horn:


dn

[Steve20050]

Thanks Don for the update. Like everyone else this was a very sad thing to see happen. It is unfortunate what wind can do in a fire like this. I have lots of memories in the gorge as most here have, and suppose in time the scars will heal. Perhaps it's selfish of me to realize it will be different for the rest of my life though . Perhaps it is a sign of growing old. Not being able to adapt to new changes. Thanks again for the photos and update.

[retired jerry]

Maybe Walden is talking about non protected forest in the area?

It sure makes you wonder if he doesn't maybe want to turn protected forests into commercial forest.

Or maybe he's just "speaking to his base" and doesn't mean to actually do anything?

[Charley]

Close-up of Oneonta Canyon:

dn

Maybe the Bell Creek Loop Old Growth hasn't burned yet.

[MarkInTheDark]

Don, thank you for those photos!!