Gorge left scarred by summer fire
¿TORY AND PHOTOS BY JONATHAN SANCHEZ -
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
M an y people have b een greeted w ith a
“ closed” sign and a fen ce as th ey w alk
towards M ultnom ah Falls since last spring,
m any o f w hich looked forward to a day o f
hiking.
It has been nearly seven m onths since the
Eagle Creek fire tore through the Columbia
River Gorge. Firefighters were finally able
to contain it too percent on Nov. 30,2017.
The fire lasted nearly three m onths burning
almost 50,000 acres according to InciWeb.
A s a result, popular h ikin g trails in the
Gorge were closed due to hazardscaused by
the fires. M any people were left devastated
and some even had to evacuate their hom es
to escape theblaze. In the months following,
people throughout the Portland metro area
were im pacted as roads were closed and
sm oke filled the air setting th e m ood for
m any sad and frustrated Oregonians.
Lindsay Curletto, a CCC admissions advisor
fromTroutdale, recounts how she had to help
her friends parents evacuate from the fire.
Multnomah Falls, a popular tourist stop in the Columbia River Gorge, was one of the areas affected by last year’s
forest fires. Though the Falls were saved from the fires, many of the surrounding hiking areas were badly damaged
and are still closed to the public.
“ W e heard news that m y room m ate’ s
closed o ff. People in Oregon have a sense of
parents, who live in Springdale, were in leveli
evacuation (get ready to leave),” Curletto said.
“ W e later got the call that his parents were
suddenly from Level 1 to level3 (Get Out!) We
shared ownership for natural areas. So m any
people feel that it was stolen.”
M any o f the popular trails are still closed.
Places like Eagle Creek, w hich has a total of
immediately drove from Troutdale to Corbett
where his m om was. She was calm. She didn’t
10 trails, have been closed o ff and have yet to
open. Firefighters were able to save most of
believe that the fire was that close. By 5 a.m .,
the local police came by and said the fire was
M ultnomah Falls from beingbum ed, but it is
still closed o ff to the public. Some areas in the
Multnomah Falls hike are still too dangerous
25Ö feet away from their doorstep. W e ran
around packing everything in the house...
picking out what looked most important. I
then helped m y roommate’s m om packher
room and decide what was staying and what
was going. Eventually we both stopped and
to be used by the public.
“ The Colum bia River Gorge is beautiful,
easily accessible and a strong representation
of the entire state,” said Oregon native Eric
Muhr, founder o f Oregon Explored, the well
looked at each other, and finally she broke
know n In stagram page w ith m ore than
down crying and felt real fear.”
Few people were unaffected by the fire.
354,000 followers.
“ S p e c ta c u la r c a n y o n s , c liffs , an d
overlooks,” M uhr said. “ It’s a playground,
a p arklan d , a n im p o rtan t co m m ercial
thoroughfare, a destination and a w ay o f
life. W e should be cautious but not fearful.
The Gorge is a resource: economic, aesthetic,
social, recreational (and maybe also spiritual).
Eighteen-year-old Rachel Dickinson, b om
and raised in Oregon said, “ I was so upset.
A fter just hearing there w as a fire, I w as
so worried m y favorite places w ould be
destroyed beyond repair, or closed forever.
I know it’s going to take a long tim e to grow
backeverything that once was there, and it’s
possible it w on’t return to the way it was in
m y lifetim e... it’ s just so sad.’.’
Other people like Steve Schwindt, a nature
photographer here in the Northwest, was left
without words.
“ It’s an incredible area that m any people
have grown up hiking and loving over the
years,” Schwindt said. “I’ve spent countless
w eeken d s in there p h o to grap h in g the
waterfalls and all o f a sudden it’s gone and
Clackamas Print
W e should pay attention to the best science
we have in order to find a balance between
hum an access so everyone can enjoy what
we have and environm ent quality so ib is
x F C in S |to
C o n c o r d ia
protected for years to com e.”
M ost o f the hikes that have been closed
are anticipated to open this summer, but be
prepared for any changes. If you are planning
to go h ikin g fo r spring break, visit www.
fs.usda.gov/crgnsa for m ore inform ation
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Nauti 14, 2018