This program was initially broadcast on September 11, 9 days after the Eagle Creek Fire was started. There has been much progress in containing the fire since then, returning evacuated residents to their homes and reopening I84, but much of this program is still relevant, as the fire is still not out and restoration has not yet begun.
On the afternoon of September 2, a group of teenagers thought it was exciting to hurl lit firecrackers into the Eagle Creek canyon in the Columbia River Gorge. Shortly after a number of hikers witnessed and heard the firecrackers, a wildfire erupted in the Eagle Creek area that has now grown to 34,000 acres -- including new fires that jumped the Columbia River to the Washington side of the Gorge. The The Eagle Creek fire has spread 12 miles west from the Eagle Creek area, threatening Crown Point and the communities of Corbett, Springdale, Bridal Veil, Larch Mountain, Latourell, Warrendale, Dodson and Cascade Locks.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Hood River city council member Peter Cornelison about the impact this fire is having on the people and landscape of the Columbia River Gorge. While we usually regard wildfire as a necessary tool for promoting forest health, so far there is little that can be said that's good about the Eagle Creek Fire.
As field representative for Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Peter Cornelison is responsible for building support and activism among Gorge residents for protecting the Columbia Gorge. A Friends staff member since 2003, Peter is a Hood River resident who has been active in a number of local conservation causes and organizations. Peter is a former president and board member of the Hood River Valley Residents Committee and a member of the Hood River Waterfront Community Park Association. He was elected to the Hood River City Council in 2014.
More information on the Eagle Creek Fire and what you can do to help.
- KBOO