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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 2017)
2 NEWS Clackamas Print Gorge engulfed in flames B y V ictoria T inker A d M anager Devastation and tragedy are striking North America with hurricanes, floods and fire. On Sept. 4 two teenagers went for a hike in the gorge, not realizing that their actions would bring so much devastation to the residences o f Oregon. The suspected teen s w ere supposedly throwing firecrackers off the side o f the 200 foot cliff at Punch Bowl Falls when the fire started shortly after around 4:30 p.m. The fire quickly grew from 300 acres to 5,500 overnight. 150 hikers ended up stranded in Cascade Locks when caught between the Eagle Creek Fire and the Indian Fire. They Were all rescued and there have been no lives lost according to Steve Beriibe, a spokesman for the firefighters. “Last Monday night [Sept. 4] we were taken by surprise,” said M ultnomah County Law Enforcement Chief Jason Gates. The fire burned 13 miles in 16 hours, according to Gates. By 5 a.m. on Sept. 5 residents o f Corbett were instructed to evacuate as the .east side became a level three warning and the majority remained level two, While parts o f Troutdale became a level one. There has been a total o f 987 firefighters including the PatRick Environm ental team from Redmond, Oregon. There are firefighters and team s helping from o th er states as well including, New M exico, A rizona and Oklahoma. As o f Sept. 7, 1,865 resid en ces w ere evacuated. R ed C ross set up two shelters one in W ashington, the other at Mt. Hood Com m unity C ollege in G resham housing around 170 people. The Eagle Creek Fire joined the Indian Ridge Fire that was already burning in Eastern Oregon, totaling 33,382 acres burned by Sept. 7. This quickly became one o f the largest wildfires in the area since 1902 when Yacolt, Washington went up in flames with 170,000 acres burned including parts o f Oregon. The Eagle C reek Fife has been m ainly contained to Oregon, but did start a 258 acre .fire, known as the Archer fire in Washington. As o f Sept. 17, the fire grew to 43,387 acres from Bridal Veil falls to Shell rock mountain and is 32 percent contained. According to Rick An overlook of the Eagle Creek area before the fires that left much of the surrounding region seared and scarred. Photo provided by the Multnomah County Facebook Pages Miller, a spokesman for the Eagle Creek fire, the Archer Fire, hasn’t grown and hasn’t shown any smóke, so that fire is looking really good. .. “Everyone is going to want to come see [the damage], just be patient,” said Gates. As. o f Sept. 19, Interstate 84 is still closed froth exit 17 in Troutdale to milepost 62 in Hood River. Dan Bacon from Oregon Department o f Transportation says it will reopen when it’s safe. The gòrge has faced the heat before in the ‘90’s, only burning around 1,500 acres, but it came back. “There are going to be changes; It’s gómg to look different,” said Lynn Burditt from Oregon Wildlife Forest Services. According to Burditt, the fire is phase one, ihen there’s the evolving landscape and Hying to recreate it. *Tt may take a while; it definitely won’t be- this fall,” said Burditt. By Sept. 17, the fires had spread to over 43 thousand acres of land. ON THE COYER: S E P TE M B E R 25, 2017 Luis Correa walks the campus. Cover and photo by Sam Weston. ■ u iM d Editors-in-Chief Autumn Berend chiefed@clackamas.edu; Managing Editor Merari Calderon Ruiz chiefed@clackamas.edu; Copy Editor Nick Allison copyed@clackamas.edu; News Editor Ian Van Orden newsed@clackamas.edu; Arts & Culture Editor Luis Correa aced@dack- amas.edu; Sports Editor Doug Fry sportsed@clackamas.edu; Photo Editor Sam Weston photoed@clackamas.edu; Multimedia Editor Alexis Wagar webeditor@clackamas.edu; Ad Manager Victoria Tinker admgr@clackamas.edu The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased and professional manner. Con tent published in The Print is not screened or subject to censorship. Email comments, concerns- or tips to: chiefed@dackamas. edu or call us at 503-594-6266 19600 Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 The Clackamas Print is free, but please take only one copy. Any person removing our papers in bulk will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
