The sections of forest and the Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail currently closed due to the Microwave Tower Fire, just west of the Mosier Twin Tunnels and above Koberg Beach.
Photo courtesy of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Forest Service
The sections of forest and the Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail currently closed due to the Microwave Tower Fire, just west of the Mosier Twin Tunnels and above Koberg Beach.
Photo courtesy of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Forest Service
MOSIER — The Microwave Tower Fire, which ignited on July 22 and has roasted 1,313 acres, is still smoldering above Koberg Beach and, according to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Forest Service, burning through an old disposal site.
Katelyn Gould, public affairs officer for the Scenic Area, assured there’s no threat to containment and that noxious gases from the dump, which has orchard waste, automobiles and other debris, are localized to the closed area.
“That’s why we have a closure in place, and why we’re asking people not to be near,” said Gould. “We don’t know what we don’t know, and what’s in that [dump] at this point.”
Along with Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality and the Parks and Recreation Department, the Scenic Area is conducting air quality monitoring and will release results as soon as they are available.
While there is no longer an incident command team on the Microwave Tower Fire, there are guards enforcing closures on the Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail just west of the Mosier Twin Tunnels.
Visit the Scenic Area’s website for more details and upcoming air quality information.
Commented