Multnomah Falls Engulfed in Flames by Out-of-Control Wildfire
Someone set off a bottle rocket.
A wilderness is destroyed.
The perfect metaphor for the dawn of the Anthropocene Age.
What we are doing to our planet?
At 5:30 today I stared at the red sun for a while before metering my camera directly at it and took a photo, f8 at 1/125 second.
There were no shadows today in the subdued orange light under the blanket of smoke that makes me wonder what planet this is.
Firefighters battled through the night to save the historic Multnomah Falls Lodge as the Eagle Creek Fire raced westward overnight.
The falls' iconic lodge, built in 1925, is still standing—but the fire keeps burning nearby.
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the ash falling all yesterday and today is very weird and it smells like campfire outside. our closed up house is even getting the smell cause the AC brings it in. left our car windows slightly open overnight, not realizing there would be a light coat over the inside now. parts of Troutdale under early evacuation warning are only a little over 6 miles, if that far, from my current location in NE PDX.
the destruction of this beautiful area is beyond a shame. those kids better have enjoyed their firecrackers in a tinderbox. dumbshits. don't care that they are young and dumb. if they are that dumb, they need to be under supervision at all times. shame on them and their so called parents.
the crazy thing is, we just booked a getaway in Stevenson for the beginning of Oct with a glorious view. wondering if it is still there and anticipating what we will see on trip out to the Gorge, if we get to go. i'm so sad just to think of the loss of old growth habitat, plus generational heritage of the development of the Gorge, both explorers and first peoples.
luckily we took a visiting friend out on the waterfall tour in july so we got to see it prior to destruction. positive vibes going out to everyone going through catastrophes.
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Vista House is cool, Larch Mountain has a spectacular view of The Gorge. All of it in jeopardy now because of a couple of asshats. 
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/09/witness_teens_giggled_as_they.html
(not the lodge in the story). No way to tell yet, but it's probably gone, since that whole ridge is on fire. Some of the buildings there have stood since the 1920s.
Thanks for being one of those who feel the sorrow. There seem to be less and less who understand the magitude of what we are loosing. It's a book older than civilization and older than these magificent life forms. And it tells the the story, paints the pictures and sears them into our collective memories with the warning that without unity with the earth we too will pass into oblivion as if we had never existed. But the mark we'll leave will be named destruction then forgotten.
I am deeply hurt by all this and these pictures will be buned into my heart for the rest of my life. I know that upper back country better than the maps. It was my birth, my passion, my life, my family and it will be my end.
Guess it's good that I saw it then, sounds like it's gonna be a mess.
Meanwhile, my throat is raw and there's ash all over everything. Stupid fucking kids. 
That will truly take your breath away. I am glad I had a chance to drive my girls through it a few months ago. I don't think the full shock of this will hit until I drive up and see for myself. We haven't seen the sun for 2 weeks in the valley because of the smoke and these idiots are playing with fireworks? Humans never cease to amaze me 
So sorry that this is happening
FEMA authorizes federal funds for firefighting efforts in Columbia River Gorge
Posted: Sep 05, 2017 1:31 PM PDT
CASCADE LOCKS, OR (KPTV) -
FEMA announced Tuesday that the Eagle Creek Fire is threatening destruction that constitutes a major disaster.
The state of Oregon requested a federal fire management assistance grant. The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs and for managing, mitigating and controlling the fire.
The grant does not provide assistance for homeowners or business owners affected by the fire and does not cover infrastructure damage caused by the fire.
At the time of the request, Level 3 evacuation orders – meaning “go now” – had been issued for 520 people and Level 2 notices – meaning “be set to evacuate” – were issued for another 624 people.
Around 95 percent of the threatened homes are primary residences. ................
Nonetheless, the fires rage on:
Heavy smoke continues to spread across northwest and north-central US
Heavy smoke is being tracked in 12 states.
Wildfire smoke map, 5:24 a.m. MDT September 4, 2017. The icons represent the locations of some of the large uncontained wildfires.
Wildfire smoke map, created at 5:36 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017. NOAA.
