Human-caused fire in Rowena burns homes, leads to traffic gridlock

“The fire’s activity is pretty significant,” Morris told Columbia Gorge News. “We’ve seen improvement ... but we’re not out of the woods yet. We are just going to stay vigilant, and the people in town should as well.”

One day after the first reports came in, the fire had consumed more than 3,000 acres between Rowena and The Dalles. Local fire teams were credited with stopping the fire from advancing further west, but wind gusts reached 30 mph and forced the closure of Interstate-84, which effectively paralyzed traffic on the highway and back into the downtown areas of Hood River and Bingen. Some drivers turned to the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge as a means of heading east. One traveler recalled her experience trying to get home to The Dalles from Hood River.

“It took me three hours to get from this exit [Exit 62] to the bridge,” said Kimberly Gibson. “It was a little crazy. And then driving by Lyle, I wanted to get out and take pictures across the river, and the wind was so strong that I couldn’t open my car door.”

Thousands of residents were under evacuation notices and the fire made its way to the northern edge of the Google Data Center.

Homes burned, resources for residents

When the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office announced that structures were under threat, many residents had to flee their homes, hoping that their property would be there when they returned. Unfortunately, the WCSO completed a final damage assessment, and 56 homes along Highway 30 and Rowena River Road were lost, according to Sheriff Lane Magill. Additionally, as of Monday, 91 outbuildings (sheds, barns, and shops) burned in the fire.

Fundraising pages set up though GoFundMe and other websites were started right away as many people dealt with the harsh reality that their livelihood may have just changed forever.

The WCSO setup a website where Rowena residents could submit information if they were concerned about their property. On Sunday morning, the WCSO began reaching out to residents and advised them to be weary of scammers targeting GoFundMe fundraising pages.

“It is unfortunate that people take advantage of a disaster for their gain when people in our community are suffering,” the WSCO said in a Facebook post. They offered tips for spotting a scam, including verifying the organizer’s identity, checking for responsiveness from the organizer and assessing the story’s accuracy. GoFundMe told Rowena Fire officials that they created a dedicated crisis response team to monitor fundraisers.

In an effort to assist residents impacted by the Rowena Fire, the WCSO has created a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC). A MARC is a one-stop center where several organizations, like the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, American Red Cross and several others collaborate to offer disaster-related aid and resources to impacted individuals and families.

If your home is currently under Level 3 evacuation orders, the WCSO is asking for residents’ patience as they remove hazards.

“There are still risks of trees falling and rock slides due to the fire. Also, North Central Public Health has begun identifying underground septic hazards in wildfire-affected areas. If people see yellow and black caution tape at their home, do not enter that area — danger is present, however tape does not guarantee safety of any given area. Some septic systems remain unidentified or unmarked,” said Stephanie Krell, Wasco County Public Information Officer.

Discovery Center raptors relocated

The museum started ushering guests out around 2:30 p.m. on June 11, when I-84 closed. By the time staff was locking up, evacuation orders came, said Executive Director Cheryl Ragar.

The museum’s two raptor program staff began packing up the four raptors — two bald eagles, a red-tailed hawk, and an American kestrel.

With the highways closed, the birds went home with Raptor Program Coordinator Julia Khoury. On June 12, their transport to Sunriver Nature Center was organized.

“The eagles aren’t trained to come to the glove because they like to keep their space from people,” Khoury said. “ ... we had to just toss a bed sheet over them, and then pick them up and put them in the crates.”

It nearly an hour to get everyone caught, caged, and trucked. “They were pretty heroic as well,” said Ragar.

By the end of June 12, Ragar knew the museum was still standing, although the grounds and nearby housing on Discovery Drive had burned.

“There’s sadness about that for us, that happened to our neighbors, but of course, a huge amount of gratitude that our building is still standing. But I just don’t know yet what it’s going to take once we’re even able to get back in there,” Ragar said. Smoke and fire damage to the collections is a possibility, Ragar said. “When we left, it was quite smoky ... outside, there was heavy smoke, and I even saw ash in the air. There was definitely some smokiness inside as well. The collections area should be — it is sealed off from the rest, and it has its own climate control, air conditioning. Now, with the power out, that would have gone out as well, but up until that point, it would have been sealed. And so I’m quite hopeful that our collections have little to no damage. I’m a little bit more concerned about our exhibit areas, and we’ll just have to see.”

She encouraged people to check gorgediscovery.org, for updates, or to volunteer time (or money) to cleanup. On Saturday, the Wasco County Emergency Management worked with Christine Carter, the State District Veterinarian for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. She was on-site supporting animal-related needs as they are reported to the WCSO.

Riverside Trail scorched

Josh Jackson is a resident of The Dalles and was one of the last people to leave and the first to return to the Riverside Trail early Wednesday morning.

“I actually was the last one off the trail, having watched the flames pass the museum around 6 p.m., eating smoke and taking flying ash in the eyes. I still smell of smoke,” he said. Jackson posted a five-minute video to his YouTube page that showed the devastation up close.

The Rowena Fire burned all the way to the edge of the Google Data Center and fire hoses could bee seen in the video still sitting on the trail.

“The path was blocked by burning debris just past the train tunnel, so I couldn’t get to Discovery Center, nor could I make it out in the haze,” Jackson said. “It does look surreal, and I had no idea how much land was really out there, now that you can see it all exposed. I hardly recognized the place.”

During his journey, Jackson saw a toppled osprey nest that was still smoldering.

“Lots was lost, but it will all return,” Jackson said. “A new post will go up for the osprey, the grasses will make amber waves once more, and life will return.”

It is believed human activity caused the fire, but the exact source is still under investigation by the Oregon Department of Forestry.