Normally, I'd compare my beloved Columbia Gorge to Rivendell:



But tonight, it's taken a decidedly Mordor-ish turn.



It's as if the very fires of Orudruin sprouted from the peaks.

Mt. Doom, and its rivers of flame, brought to us by some fool and his firecrackers.



100 degree temperatures, high winds, tinder dry grass as high as your waist--this was not enough to convince you that firecrackers were not a good idea? Maybe it was an underage child as reported--if so where were his parents?



I-84, our main East-West interstate has been closed. Firefighters are getting an estimate on the fire, but it's not contained. The structure you see here is Bonneville Dam, a major source of power for the region. Eagle Creek, where the fire allegedly started, is the next exit East from the dam.



To give you a sense of scale, the tower in the previous picture is the rightmost tall red & white tower in this photo. The photos of the fire were taken from the sandy-looking island/peninsula in the middle of the river about 1/3 of the way to the right of the picture (Officially "Hamilton Island" but known as "Strawberry Island" by everyone locally). The "sand" is actually dry grass.

We're hoping for rain this week, but I'm concerned it might be one of those storms that's more lightening than rain. The Eagle Creek fire is 4800 acres at the last report I saw. I do not know if this is big relative to other fires, but it is very impressive to see in person, even from .5 miles away and across a river.

And yes, I will say a prayer for my brothers and sisters in MT and TX as well.

Scary stuff! Please stay safe.

Prayers sent

you have my best wishes for a quick turn around on the fire.

I feel your pain. 26 of 39 WA counties have major fires. The Olympics have one that is getting tricky as temperatures go up over on the Bogashiel.

We are a good ways away, probably 50 or more miles as the ash flies and we are getting a fine coat of the stuff on everything. It doesn't show up on trees and grass but the cars are getting a coating.

I have no idea what started that one.

Boardman (about 1.5 hours east of Hood River) sent a half dozen fire fighters to this fire yesterday.

I am sitting on top of McNary Dam looking east to a grain elevator about 300 yards away from my office window, and the smoke is so thick one can't see that big structure.

I picked up a dog in Hood River early Saturday evening and saw the plume from this fire when it was smaller.

Also as of sometime last night this fire jumped the Columbia river and has set fire in Washington.

This is the result of many factors with the firecrackers being the spark that set off this fire. The other factors are the environmentalists preventing the logging of downed and diseased forest as they claim it will displace some critter or other.

When I was in elementary through high school in Albany their used to be loggers that logged these areas of the dead/dying trees using horses to drag out the timber and we didn't have fires of the magnitude we have seen in the last decade.

I truly hope the book gets thrown at the vandals who started this fire. I also hope some environmentalist groups get held accountable.

I am saying prayers for my state of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Texas, as I truly hope we come out in one piece.

Dave.

Sorry to see that, especially since there was a big fire in the gorge not far from there just a few years ago.

On the bright side for us truckers, any chance this fire will burn down the scale house at Cascade Locks?

Prayers said.

quote:

Originally posted by lizardman_u:
I am saying prayers for my state of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Texas, as I truly hope we come out in one piece.

Dave.

Dave, I'll send you an email if I ever make it out that far East.

I remember your email from earlier in my thread about visiting Bruce Gray, in Spray.

I haven't seen what it looks like in daylight, but I'm afraid of what I'll see.

Be safe!! Prayers sent!!

I just talked to my mom (parents live near Stevenson) and she went off on the Forest Service/environmentalists regarding the no-cut restrictions affecting common sense forestry management

quote:

Originally posted by lizardman_u:
This is the result of many factors with the firecrackers being the spark that set off this fire. The other factors are the environmentalists preventing the logging of downed and diseased forest as they claim it will displace some critter or other.

When I was in elementary through high school in Albany their used to be loggers that logged these areas of the dead/dying trees using horses to drag out the timber and we didn't have fires of the magnitude we have seen in the last decade.

I truly hope the book gets thrown at the vandals who started this fire. I also hope some environmentalist groups get held accountable.
Dave.

Prayers sent, stay safe

You have them LDD, I know the area well. The loss of such a beautiful resource is a shame. In all places suffering these fire's. A real shame.

We don't have a fire real close to us yet, but we are getting the smoke from the 74 fires that are burning in Wa., Or. and Id.

Before:


Now:



Jim

We've got a couple hundred feet of visibility here for the last several days.

Living in the twilight zone is the only way I can describe it.

I have a friend that had to evacuate off the Columbia yesterday.

Disaster touch many lives and it's times like this that keep me humble.

Best wishes to all affected.

Have a daughter not far from Vancouver Washington, she has sent pic's of the smoke and ash all over her vehicle. She has said the fire is only 38 miles away from her home. Hope they get it under control if not out. Prayers sent for all involved.

quote:

Originally posted by LDD:

quote:

Originally posted by lizardman_u:
I am saying prayers for my state of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Texas, as I truly hope we come out in one piece.

Dave.

Dave, I'll send you an email if I ever make it out that far East.

I remember your email from earlier in my thread about visiting Bruce Gray, in Spray.

I haven't seen what it looks like in daylight, but I'm afraid of what I'll see.

Good deal as you and any Sigforum member are always welcome to break bread or stay at the house here.

I am thinking that while some of the beauty will be gone for a while that the area as it regrows will have its own unique beauty.

I also hope the book gets thrown at the idiots who started this and their parents (as both are minors).

Years ago I was on call for emergency wildfire suppression with the New Mexico Division of State Forestry. One thing during the day seeing the smoke, but at night the sky glowing many miles away makes you wonder when and how it will be stopped.

A glowing sky from probably fifty miles away makes you think........

Experienced pretty much every Disaster except major volcanic eruption. Hope that winter comes early for you. I know what you are going through.

We've got a handful of fire up and down the Sierras so far this season. The bark beetle has done some serious killing during the drought years, which helped contribute to the last few year's huge fires. Fortunately, the epic winter brought some much needed relief to the mountains, unfortunately, we've had several heat waves since Spring started and we're now entering our Indian Summer months when the heat really gets cranked up. Just about every lake in the Sierra was dealing with smoke settling into it's lake depression and hazing over everything this past weekend. San Francisco set it's all-time heat record on Friday...beating Phoenix of all places with 106-degrees. Smoke from fires down south settled into the Bay and hazed over the region providing interesting sunrises and sunsets, while the heat reminded everyone of what Summer is like in the rest of the country. We've got another 60-80 days of heat, which means fire danger for those in the mountains.