Dollar Lake Fire

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Don Nelsen
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by Don Nelsen » September 2nd, 2011, 6:51 pm

I got a view from near the Dalles of the smoke this morning as I was driving back from the Wallowas:

Image

Must be a grim sight up close.

dn
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retired jerry
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by retired jerry » September 2nd, 2011, 7:00 pm

I've walked through the burned area near Tilly Jane and on the trail around the Three Sisters and near Angel's Rest and in Ochocos.

It's different than before, but not destroyed by any means. Natural. The view gets opened up for one thing - I hate those obnoxious trees everywhere that block the view :)

I was camped near Cairn Basin the Friday night that it started and don't remember any thunderstorms. It was below Elk Cove about a mile so I assume some human must have started it.

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adamschneider
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by adamschneider » September 2nd, 2011, 10:01 pm

retired jerry wrote:I was camped near Cairn Basin the Friday night that it started and don't remember any thunderstorms. It was below Elk Cove about a mile so I assume some human must have started it.
There was a tremendous amount of lightning on Thursday night/Friday morning; assumably that's when it started.

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Koda
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by Koda » September 3rd, 2011, 8:20 am

I am slowly getting used to the idea of the burned forest. After all it is nature in action and like Tom mentioned much needed. The understory into the canyon was heavy with dead blowdown... lots of fuel, this fire will burn hot and destructive.

It will open up the views into this canyon, perhaps make it easier to explore or visit.

here is another view from the canyon earlier this year from the viewpoint on the Elk Cove Trail.
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Grannyhiker
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by Grannyhiker » September 3rd, 2011, 3:36 pm

Impressive amount of smoke as I drove back from Seattle today. Mt. Hood is completely obscured from I-205 and I-84 to Troutdale. According to InciWeb, it doesn't sound good! http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/2563/12934/
Afternoon Update for The Dollar Lake Fire

Incident: Dollar Lake Fire Wildfire
Released: 3 hrs. ago
Strong winds out of the east pushed the west perimeter of the fire in the Mt. Hood Wilderness as far west as Cathedral Ridge/Mazama Trail area today. As soon as winds subside and smoke clears fire personnel will have a more accurate assessment of fire location and size. Smoke has been heavy and is visible as far west as Portland. The wind is predicted to diminish later this afternoon.
Three air tankers, three heavy helicopters, two medium, and one light helicopter are working the fire. Retardant drops have been approved for Wilderness suppression as part of the aggressive fire fighting effort.
On the north and east sides of the fire, crews continue to monitor and mop up yesterday's controlled burn which will strengthen the line protecting county and private lands.
Structure protection continues to be staffed with a task force and an extensive sprinkler system in the Tilly Jane and Cloud Cap areas.

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Grannyhiker
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by Grannyhiker » September 3rd, 2011, 3:47 pm

More info on NWCC: http://www.nwccweb.us/information/fire_ ... MHF-000382
Status Crews are preparing for warmer, dryer weather that has been forecast for Labor Day weekend with anticipated potential for increased fire activity. Cloud Cap Inn has been evacuated and is being protected by a sprinkler system. Cloud Cap, Tilly Jane and Kinnikinnick Campgrounds have been closed. Timberline Trail #600 is closed on the north side of Mt. Hood east of McNeil Point through the fire closure area to Timberline Trail's junction with the Gnarl Ridge Trail #652 on the east side of Mt. Hood. Other trails closed by the Dollar Lake Fire Area Closure are: Vista Ridge Trail #626 Tilly Jane Trail #600A Wagon Road Elk Cove Trail #631 Pinnacle Ridge Trail #630 Eliot Glacier Dollar Lake Trail Barrett Spur Vista Ridge Trail Old Vista Ridge Trail Mazama Trail #625 Eden Park Trail Laurance Lake Area Trails including Laurance Lake High Loop Trail. More fire information can be found on www.inciweb.org or by calling Dollar Lake fire information at 541-351-1431.

pdxgene
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by pdxgene » September 3rd, 2011, 3:58 pm

A bit further south, KATU's website has reported an evacuation of the Big Lake Recreation Area (near Santiam Pass) and new PCT closures in the area.

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Splintercat
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by Splintercat » September 3rd, 2011, 6:58 pm

Just got back from poking around Surveyor's Ridge, Middle Mountain and anywhere else I could get a good camera angle on the fire this afternoon. The hottest spots were at the lower end of Stranahan Ridge, which is odd, since the control back-burn was apparently set in that area (and quite large - 500 acres). The fire looked to be pretty much in the general footprint of the perimeter as mapped on Thursday (and on Adam's map), though it had moved closer to Timberline on the south end. The area north of the Clear Branch (Red Hill and Owl Point) are well out of the fire zone... for now.

But then there's an ominous update from about noon today that Granny Hiker posted on the western extent. Wow! That might be a worst case, based on smoke, but if so, the fire jumped a LOT of familiar terrain on the Timberline Trail.

I'll post some photos later.

-Tom

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weathercrazy
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by weathercrazy » September 3rd, 2011, 7:44 pm

The controlled burn was delayed today...because of the gusty and erratic east wind.

Here is a satellite pic that shows the smoke and origin really well.
a1.11246.USA1.143.1000m.jpg
The link below updates once a day and offers a much larger view of the area:

http://ge.ssec.wisc.edu/modis-today/ind ... ution=250m

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Grannyhiker
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Re: Fire closure near Elk Cove, Mt. Hood

Post by Grannyhiker » September 3rd, 2011, 7:47 pm

From what I've been reading, we won't know much about what burned until the smoke clears....

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