the cause of the 3,000-acre Eagle Creek fire that stranded 140 hikers Saturday night was caused by fireworks; one suspect has been identified.
By Rebecca Woolington
rwoolington@oregonian.com
The Oregonian/OregonLive
Idiot With Fireworks Starts Columbia River Gorge Fire That Strands 150 Hikers and Threatens Town of Cascade Locks
The fire has consumed 3,000 acres of pristine forest that Portlanders treat as a playground
Police and fire investigators say they now believe the cause of the 3,000-acre Eagle Creek fire that stranded 140 hikers Saturday night was caused by fireworks.
Oregon State Police said Sunday afternoon that they've identified a suspect whose "misuse of fireworks" might have sparked the blaze in the Columbia River Gorge, about 40 miles east of Portland. Police did not release more information, but said they would share additional information as the investigation continues.
Officials evacuated hikers from the trail and started busing the groups late Sunday morning to the Cascade Salmon Hatchery, said Rachel Pawlitz, a spokeswoman for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The fish hatchery, where family members waited to reunite with the hikers, is at the Eagle Creek Trail's head.
The third and final bus dropped off the last batch of hikers shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday. All hikers have now been accounted for.
Among the evacuated hikers was Sarah Carlin Ames, a Portland attorney, who described a very trying experience. She posted a photo online Sunday of her family, including her husband, Peter Carlin, and their grown children.
They look tired, but are all smiles.
"24 miles and a cold night spooning on the bare ground later, we survived the Eagle Creek Fire of 2017," she wrote. "...Exhausted, blistered, and proud of our kids. What an ordeal."
Carlin Ames and Carlin are former Oregonian reporters.
Firefighters Sunday morning were trying to develop a containment strategy for the fire, said Stephen Baker, a regional spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. Officials were first focused on evacuating the hikers and protecting the Cascade Locks community, which is under evacuation orders.
"Our top priority, at this point, is safety," Baker said.
Officials say the fire ignited Saturday afternoon, quickly spreading east because of dry conditions. Oregon State Police is investigating, but further information about what happened was not available.
The forest service is closing all trails between the Herman Creek and Eagle Creek trails, including the popular Wahclella Falls Trail, Pawlitz said. Baker said an incident management team has responded to take control of both the Eagle Creek and Indian Creek fires. The Indian Creek blaze, which had already closed a portion of the Eagle Creek Trail, started July 4 at 7 ½ Mile Camp. Within the past day, Pawlitz said, the Indian Creek fire has doubled in size and is now burning about 700 acres.
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Idiot With Fireworks Starts Columbia River Gorge Fire That Strands 150 Hikers and Threatens Town of Cascade Locks The fire has consumed 3,000 acres of pristine forest that Portlanders treat as a playground.
By Aaron Mesh
Updated September 4, 2017
An idiot setting off fireworks near Punchbowl Falls is the likely cause of a wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge that has consumed 3,000 acres, stranded 153 hikers overnight on a trail, and has the town of Cascade Locks preparing to evacuate over Labor Day weekend.
Oregon State Police announced this afternoon that the likely cause of the forest fire was this moron using fireworks on the Eagle Creek trail, one of the most popular destinations in the waterfall district east of Portland.
“We believe that fireworks is the cause,” says Sgt. Kaipo Raiser of the Oregon State Police. “We do have a suspect identified. No one has been arrested at this point. Potentially, there could be criminal penalties as well.”
The fire started Saturday afternoon, at the start of a three-day weekend where tinderbox conditions caused state forestry officials to beg revelers to be careful.
Someone wasn’t. Joel Ives of Hood River County Sheriff’s Office says the fire began “about a mile up from the Eagle Creek trailhead, which would be really close to Punchbowl Falls.” The photogenic pools are one of the most popular spots in the gorge for swimming, cliff jumping and pot smoking.
By 5:30 pm Saturday, 153 hikers were stranded by fire and smoke on the Eagle Creek trail—a steeply graded hike with 200-foot cliffs on one side. They headed uphill and huddled outdoors overnight.
This afternoon, school buses picked up the hikers at the top of the trail. One was taken to a hospital, dehydrated.
“We had them all continue up the Eagle Creek trail to Wahtum Lake and our search and rescue team met them there,” says Ives. “All known groups of hikers have been rescued and reunited. We’re still taking calls about people who may or may not have been in the area.”
The fire has grown to 3,000 acres, and is threatening to reach Cascade Locks, a town best known for the Bridge of the Gods. More than 130 homes in Cascade Locks have been evacuated, and Raiser says the entire town could be told to leave if winds pick up.
The schmuck-caused fire quadruples the number of acres burning in the Columbia River Gorge and has choked the air with smoke from Hood River to Gresham. Forestry and police officials say they’re having a hard enough time dealing with natural fires across the state, without worrying about people setting more.
“Not just fireworks—any kind of unattended fires is an extremely huge concern for us in this dry season,” says Raiser.
Police continue to ask Oregonians to not ruin the state’s most beautiful places by lighting bottle rockets and flares in the woods like a bunch of assholes. UPDATE, 9:20 pm: WW‘s news partner KATU-TV reports the suspect in the fire is a teenage boy. Oregon State Police say he is cooperating with the investigation, and could face charges including arson and reckless endangerment