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Photography

In reply to the discussion: Paradise...Lost [View all]

regnaD kciN

(27,637 posts)
18. It's been mixed good and bad...
Thu Sep 14, 2017, 07:58 PM
Sep 2017

The best news is that the fire (so far, at least -- it's far from out yet) appears to have not gone far enough west to impact Latourell Falls. Similarly, it appears that Bridal Veil Falls may have been just north of where the fire stopped.

There was a major effort to save Multnomah Falls Lodge (not surprising, as it's one of the big tourist attractions of the Portland area). The lodge was saved, although fire came very close (as in, within a few dozen feet) of it. There is some damage to the Multnomah Falls area itself, but very little, considering what could have happened, and it looks pretty much as it did before.

I saw one shot from the roadway alongside Wahkeena Falls, indicating that the tree canopy remained intact, at least near the road. How much the rest of that particular waterfall was affected, I can't say, since I'm only going by that picture and the public is still barred from the area and looks likely to be for some time. But, in areas where the tree canopy remained undamaged, recovery should happen relatively quickly, within the next few years.

A very quick and very close-up video of Horsetail Falls left more questions than answers. Obviously, there was damage, with at least some trees completely burned, but I couldn't tell if that was true of the whole scene.

The rest of the falls...well, I wish I could be so optimistic. In general, most of the locations I've mentioned are right by the roadside; I fear that, as you hike up and away from the highway, it will be pretty bad. I especially fear for Eagle (Metlako and Punch Bowl) and Tanner (Wahclella) Creeks themselves, as well as Ruckel Creek, a beloved photographic location I had yet to visit.

The worst news is that, over the past day, strong winds out of the west have pushed the eastern border of the fire (which had almost entirely burned south and west beforehand) quite a distance more to the east. From the look of the maps I saw this morning, I suspect that Gorton Creek, the location for those last two photos, might be burned by now (as a matter of fact, I just checked...it appears the fire came right down to the place I was standing when I took that Emerald Falls photo); in fact, it's moved so far to the east, I fear for Starvation Creek State Park, whose waterfalls I didn't even bother including in the OP because I figured there was no way the fire could come close to reaching it. If that happens, it means that the entire Gorge has been affected; while it has been a "mosaic fire" to this point, leaving sections undamaged, the current scenario suggests that, while there still may be some "roadside attractions" still looking good enough to draw the tourists, virtually every trail through the Gorge -- most of which head south into the hills -- will have been burned at some point or another. If your plans are to hike more than a half-mile or so into the area, you're probably going to find a lot of what used to be there reduced to scorched earth -- the sort of damage that will take many decades to restore.

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