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
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