Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge caused significant damage to a footbridge and destroyed a local family's fishing platform after breaking free of its moorings in the morning of Jan. 13.
Photo courtesy Genevieve SchollVessel moved downriver near Bonneville Dam
CASCADE LOCKS — Just before 9:45 a.m. on Jan. 13, Port of Cascade Locks Deputy Executive Director Genevieve Scholl reported the historic Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge had broken free of its moorings earlier that morning “in high winds from the current blizzard conditions … and drifted into the old locks just east of its dock in Cascade Locks.”
Crews piloted the sternwheeler out of the lock and downriver, mooring it at the more sheltered Lower Mooring near Bonneville Dam and Lock.
In an updated posted at 11:49 a.m., Scholl said the vessel caused “significant damage” to a footbridge spanning the old lock channel and connecting the Marina parking lot to Thunder Island, and additionally “destroyed” a fishing platform owned by a local Native American fishing family.
"We are in contact with the family, and it is a high priority to replace the platform quickly," said Port Executive Director Jeremiah Blue. "We are concerned about damage to the footbridge and will be working to assess the damage to the Sternwheeler as soon as possible."
Blue thanked Cascade Locks Fire and EMS, Hood River County Sheriff's Office, Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Office, Bonneville Dam Rangers, Bonneville Dam Lock operators, Dennis Snyder Construction, USCG Sector Columbia River, USACE Portland District, and the captain and crew of the Sternwheeler “for their quick response to the marine emergency.”
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