Trail/Road Closures, Gnarl Ridge Fire

[Paul]

Splintercat, fires rarely climb downhill. Convective currents usually keep it going up and around, especially on a hillside.

I'm glad the Inn was spared. To those who are fighting it, be safe, Brothers.

[drm]

I just learned that the Forest Service has confirmed that both Tilly Jane buildings - the A-Frame and the Guard Station - survived the fire. Apparently, the fire went right up to the side of the A-Frame and then changed direction.

I don't know if this is a temporary reprieve - with this fire, who knows.

[Splintercat]

Thanks for the update - it's going to be interesting to see what the terrain on Cloud Cap Road looks like after this has all died down!

Paul, I was thinking mostly about the Bluegrass fire, and burning debris rolling down the hillside from the ridge crest, though the terrain between Polallie Canyon and Eliot Branch probably isn't steep enough for that effect, anyway.

I'm of mixed emotions on this - don't want to lose the old buildings, but a lot of that area will benefit from a fire, and so to that extent, it's a welcome development. I was looking through my old 1930s era panoramas from various lookouts, and wondering if we're due for more big fires, like those that cleared huge areas on the west side of the mountain at the turn of the 20th century?

-Tom

[retired jerry]

It'll be interesting checking everything out when it's all over. Maybe there will be an opportunity before winter sets in.

[Grannyhiker]

I just checked InciWeb and there's a just-posted update:
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/news/article/1465/8236/

On Thursday, favorable weather and aggressive air operations allowed firefighters to slow the spread of the Gnarl Ridge Fire.

Firefighters were relieved to find historic Cloud Cap Inn and the historic structures at Tilly Jane Campground intact in spite of the fire activity surrounding them. Fire officials are still concerned that predicted west to northwest winds will push fire back towards the structures.

All the roads and trails listed earlier in this thread remain closed. That's basically everything on the E. and N. sides of Mt. Hood between the Newton Creek Trail and the McGee Creek Trail.

[Water]

So does this mean hiking up to McNiel point via the topspur TH is off basically? I suppose a strong east wind could make it wrap around the mountain towards the NW side...

[retired jerry]

according to http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/document ... e_list.doc (below) you can't go on the Timberline trail past the junction with the McGee Creek trail, so McNeil point is out:

EMERGENCY FIRE CLOSURE
09/19/2008
Until further notice the following campgrounds, trails and roads are closed to due to activity from the Gnarl Ridge Fire:

• Tilly Jane Campground
• Cloud Cap Campground
• Kinnnickinnick Campground (Laurance Lake)
• Little John Snopark
• Red Hill Road #16 and associated spurs
• Cloud Cap Road #3512
• Forest Road 3520 and associated spurs
• Forest Road 2840 and associated spurs(Laurance Lake Road)
• Forest Road 3511 and associated spurs
• Forest Road 1811
• Forest Road 1810-640
• Timberline Trail #600 from the intersection with the Newton Creek Trail #646 north and west to intersection with the McGee Creek Trail #627
• East Fork Trail #650
• Bluegrass Ridge Trail #647
• Cooper Spur Trail #600-B
• Elk Meadows Trail #645 north of the intersection with the Newton Creek Trail
• Elk Meadows Perimeter Trail#645-A
• Lamberson Spur Trail #644
• Gnarl Ridge Trail #652
• Polallie Ridge #643
• Tamanawas Falls Trail #650-A
• Tamanawas Tie Trail #650-B
• Wagon Road #642
• Tilly Jane Trail #448
• Tilly Jane Trail #600-A
• Tilly Jane Trail #643
• Elk Cove Trail #631
• Pinnacle Ridge Trail #639
• Vista Ridge Trail # 626
• Mazama Trail #625 (a.k.a. Cathedral Ridge Trail)

For further information please contact the Hood River Ranger District at 541-352-6002.

[Luv2Kayak]

Latest e-mail from Darryl Lloyd:

Here is the latest on the Gnarl Ridge Fire on Mt. Hood. I've attached below a photo of Cloud Cap Inn and a "briefing map." To make it more clear, I cropped the map and added text.

News release as of about 3 PM today (9/19)
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/news/article/1465/8236/

[Grannyhiker]

I just pray that the fire area is getting the downpour we just got in Troutdale--very heavy rain for at least 30 minutes. It looks as though I'll be up a ladder tomorrow cleaning gutters instead of hiking!

The update on Inciweb was this morning, so unless some of you with forest service friends hear something today, we won't know until tomorrow morning if the fire area got a similar downpour.

[Grannyhiker]

Per this morning's update on http://www.inciweb.org/incident/news/article/1465/8269/, the fire was slowed but definitely not stopped by recent precipitation.

The three hotshot crews building handline on the fire's western edge along Stranahan ridge will be joined today by a rappel crew. Although the fuels are heavy in this area, and the mountain-influenced winds are uncertain, these crews are striving to stop the fire's western advance. Stranahan ridge is located between Eliot and Coe Creeks, high on the northern slope of Mt. Hood. The crews are near the 5000 foot level today, and working toward higher ground.

The trail and road closures previously posted (twice!) on this thread--between Newton Creek and McGee Creek--still remain in effect. They can be found on the above link (page down a bit) or on the Mt. Hood NF website, http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/conditions/index.shtml--page down to the Hood River Ranger District.