The Gorge is burning and it breaks my heart.
It was such a beautiful place and now it’s in flames, up and down the Columbia River on the Oregon side, and jumping across to Washington side today. It’s stranded hikers on local trails, closed the Pacific Crest trail as it runs through Cascade Locks in the heart of the Gorge, and shut down I-84 for miles. From one day to the next, it grew from 3000 acres to 10,000 acres. And all because, allegedly, some teenagers threw fireworks off a cliff.
If you’ve never been there, here’s my photos from two visits to the Gorge so that you can see what we’re losing right now. This is a shot from the Washington side, looking up the Columbia towards Cascade Locks.
It was a gorgeous place to take a boat ride and see the Bridge of the Gods from the water. Most of that green you see in the photo below is now burned away.
The breath-taking Multnomah Falls is threatened and firefighters worked all of Monday night to save historic buildings there. Will they win in the end or will the fire take it all?
It was such a stunning place and I’m glad I got to see it before this happened. I did a half-marathon here in 2015 and saw it up close, trails and forest roads, and it was one of the most beautiful races I’ve ever done.
Here’s what it the Gorge looked like last night:
I don’t have a good ending for this post because the fire rages on. Keep the Columbia Gorge in your thoughts, I know it’s in mine even as I watch Houston’s recovery, the Montana and Idaho fires, and Irma’s path south of me.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King
Annie,
I too have been to the gorge, and the falls. I feel the pain also.
But, fire is a natural thing in nature. I lived in Bozeman in ’88, and Yellowstone has always been a special place to my family. There was pain then too. However, I have been back a number of times since, and seeing the recovery and new life has been amazing.
Never fear, the gorge will be back too.
I know it will come back, but it will be years before it gets that lush again. And the buildings at Multnomah Falls are landmarks, so hoping they can be saved. I grew up in California, so I know about fires and regrowth; controlled burns are good but misunderstood.
This is just such a difficult time on so many levels. I heard we had a fire start near Gilroy because kids were throwing fireworks too. If my kids EVER do something that irresponsible, I can guarantee you that they will be working to restore whatever they’ve damaged. In the meantime, I am actively doing everything I can to teach them an appreciation for all life, including plants. I do need to add that I even went so far as to go camping, in a tent, without a porta-potty, in triple digit heat. Just for laughs. 🙂 The important thing was that they had a blast in Big Basin, a beautiful chunk of redwood glory.
Ah, Big Basin is awesome, good for you for taking them there! I trace my love of forests to a trip my Dad took me on when I was 10, my first time in a forest (Yosemite). It literally changed my life, seeing that place, the stars at night, and so much more.
The smoke is difficult here in the Boise area. I look at the fire map for the Pacific Northwest and it is heart-breaking. I tried camping at Craters of the Moon this past weekend and only managed two out of our three planned nights.
Oh, no, that’s sad indeed. I did a day at COTM and want to go back at some point, it’s kind of a photographer’s paradise/challenge! There are so many fires, the one raging in Montana is massive. Almost too much to look at the fire map and see them all. Stay safe, Kristi.