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Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Officials battle wildfires
and misinformation
Discovering a hidden gem
By Lawrence Stoller
Guest Columnist
My friend Gary and I
have been exploring the wil-
derness of our Three Sisters
Cascade range for years.
The other day we started
at a trailhead in an area we
are generally familiar with.
After a short time following
the trail, we spontaneously
veered off into the under-
brush in a direction that we
never explored, letting curi-
osity be our compass.
This kind of adventur-
ing combines the elements
of wonder, surprise, and
uncertainty with a hefty
dose of hardship and poten-
tial danger. (We have about
80 years of combined wil-
derness experience and do
not recommend others fol-
low our lead without proper
experience, gear, a GPS
and a developed sense for
adventure.)
We found ourselves walk-
ing several hours up and
through rugged overgrown
terrain, following deer trails
and trusting our innate sense
of adventure. We ascended
the flow of a rushing creek,
climbed over endless fire-
fallen trees, waded through
thick masses of head-high
snowbrush, bouldering ever
higher. As we rounded a
bend, with the echo of the
creek increasingly amplified,
we saw an impressive series
of cascading waterfalls.
As we got closer, maybe
a few hundred yards away,
we saw a large slab rock
that had come off the side
wall of the canyon. It was
planted in the middle of the
upper falls and was beau-
tifully carved by eons of
winter runoff of the rushing
creek. But as we neared, the
wonder and beauty of the
moment disappeared in an
instant. It looked as if some-
one had sprayed bright neon
green paint on the rock. Who
would have come all the way
up here to deface this mag-
nificent rock? We continued
our approach with a mix of
dismay and angst.
As we got closer, the
graffiti became obscured
by the terrain, and we lost
track of the defaced boulder.
The ravine was steep, with
By Ali Swenson
Associated Press
PHOTO BY GARY TOWNSEND
A pair of local explorers discovered an interesting geological
phenomenon out in the woods.
many drop-offs, which made
getting to creek level too
dangerous. But as I looked
across the ravine, I could see
that there were traces of color
on some of the surrounding
rocks as well. Excitement
clicked in triggering my min-
eralogical mind, and every-
thing changed. (I have been
an artist working with gems
and minerals for almost 40
years.)
The color in the formation
appeared to be chrysocolla, a
close mineralogical relative
of turquoise. Chrysocolla is
a hydrated copper phyllosili-
cate mineral, or more simply
stated, a strikingly beauti-
ful rock. Over time, traces
in the copper mineral had
oxidized, turning a beautiful
blue-green.
As we climbed closer,
we found a safe section of
the creek where we could
both cool off and cross to the
other side. Once across, we
paralleled the falls, looking
for the colored stone. And
there it was& the old mas-
terpiece. Mother Nature had
painted a three-foot splash
of color directly in the center
of the rock slab. A thin, vivid
patina layer of chrysocolla.
There were little wisps of
chrysocolla in the surround-
ing rock formations.
Apparently, eons ago
Mother Nature was testing
her color palette and dabbed
this lovely blue green min-
eral on the canvas of gray
slab rock.
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See MISINFORMATION on page 11
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Do you understand your policy?
Are you overpaying?
“Necessity is the mother of
INVENTION”
A BIG THANK
YOU TO OUR
FIREFIGHTERS
S E AT T L E ( A P ) 4
Emergency responders in the
Pacific Northwest are fighting
misinformation along with
raging wildfires as people
spread unsubstantiated social
media posts blaming coordi-
nated groups of arsonists from
both the far left and far right
for setting the blazes.
The FBI said Friday,
September 11, that it9s inves-
tigated several claims and
found them to be untrue,
while officials in Oregon and
Washington state have turned
to Facebook to knock down
the competing narratives 4
some posts blamed far-left
antifa activists and others
claimed the far-right group
the Proud Boys was respon-
sible for the fires scorching
wide swaths of the region.
<I am physically and emo-
tionally exhausted. We9ve
been working really hard to
protect people9s lives and
homes,= firefighter Matt
Lowery wrote Thursday night
on the Facebook page for the
East Pierce Fire & Rescue
union south of Seattle. <I also
want to address an issue that
keeps coming up, even from
some of the public that we
are talking to while working.
It is hot, dry, and fire spreads
quickly in those conditions.
There is nothing to show it9s
antifa or Proud Boys setting
fires. Wait for information.=
The Mason County
Sheriff 9s Office urged
Washington residents to stop
spreading rumors as isolated
incidents of apparent arson
led to widespread, unfounded
claims that antifa agitators
were conspiring to start fires
along the West Coast. Antifa is
short for anti-fascists, a range
of far-left militant groups that
oppose white supremacists.
<Though some agencies
have made arrests related to
arson recently, they appear
to all be separate individu-
als, however as with many
incidents, it will be an ongo-
ing investigation in each
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