Fire rages near Cascade Locks

The suspect has been identified as a fifteen year old male from Vancouver, Washington. It is believed he and others may have been using fireworks which started the forest fire along the Eagle Creek Trail. The suspect was then contacted by law enforcement in the parking lot of the trailhead and was interviewed.

The Oregon State Police is seeking witnesses or those with information about the cause of the fire to come forward. Anyone who heard fireworks or other explosions in the area of the Eagle Creek Trail/ Punch Bowl Falls on Saturday between 10am to 5PM is urged to contact OSP at 503-375-3555.

OSP is being assisted by the United States Forest Service, Hood River District Attorney's Office, US Attorney's Office and the Hood River Juvenile Department.

This investigation is continuing and no arrests or formal charges have been made. The identity of the juvenile will not be released at this time.

END UPDATE

UPDATE: The Eagle Creek fire is now reported to be at 10,000 acres, up from 4,800 acres Monday.

UPDATE: Hood River County Sheriff's Office, 3:39 p.m.:

CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. -- All public forest lands west of Highway 281 (Odell area) and north of Mt. Hood are being put under Level One evacuation notices. These are public lands where campers, hikers, and hunters may currently be recreating, but no private homes. Deputies have been making sweeps to advise anyone in those areas. The only other areas to be under evacuation notice continues to be the Cascade Locks area, and those evacuation levels have not changed.

END UPDATE

UPDATE: EAGLE CREEK FIRE AND INDIAN CREEK FIRE UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 11:47 AM

News Release from Oregon State Fire Marshal

Hot, dry and gusty east winds fanned the flames of the Eagle Creek Fire on Monday as the fire moved west. At 1 a.m. this morning, line personnel reported that the temperature was 91 degrees, the relative humidity was 24%, and the winds were sustained from the east at 13--16 miles per hour with gusts to 25 mph.

Four Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office task forces of engines were awakened during the night, at fire camp in Odell and sent to assist with the firefighting efforts. A total of 10 task forces worked through the night to provide structure protection. Additionally, more structural fire resources arrived overnight to be deployed to the line today. There have been no known residential structural losses.

By 2 a.m. the fire had spotted across the Columbia River into Washington. The Washington spot is located near Archer Mountain.

For current evacuation information, residents are encouraged to monitor information from local jurisdictions and media outlets.

I-84 remains closed from Troutdale to Hood River due to rocks and rolling debris entering the roadway. Washington State Route 14 is open to passenger vehicle traffic, but closed to commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles are being routed to Highway 26. Check www.tripcheck.com for road conditions in Oregon and http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts for road conditions in Washington.

Brisk East winds are expected to continue through today. Wednesday is forecasted to bring partial cloudiness with winds switching to westerly 6-8 mph gusting to 15 mph after 1200 with increased relative humidity.

The U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry, Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 6 and the Oregon State Fire Marshall's Office have formed an integrated team to manage the Eagle Creek Fire and Indian Creek Fire.

END UPDATE

CASCADE LOCKS (AP) — Ash is drifting down onto the Oregon town of Cascade Locks from a fire burning nearby in the Columbia River Gorge, which firefighters are battling to keep at bay.

Authorities said Tuesday morning, Sept. 5, that evacuation orders remain for 283 structures, including 15 businesses.

After quickly spreading since it started about 4 p.m. on Saturday, apparently from a youngster playing with fireworks, the fire is an estimated 4,800 acres.

Officials worked to protect structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s in the nearby Eagle Creek Day Use Area, and put sprinklers on a suspension bridge across the waterway.

As of press time Tuesday, the fire was 0 percent contained.

Personnel from Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue went to Cascade Locks at 5 a.m. Sept. 5 to assist with firefighting efforts. They will be joining 294 other firefighters battling the blaze.

Interstate 84 in both directions was closed to all vehicle traffic Tuesday morning from The Dalles to Troutdale. A detour routes trucks to Highwy 197 in The Dalles south to Highway 216 and 26 west to return to I-84. Reverse for eastbound traffic.

Crews helped rescue more than 100 hikers stranded in the mountains overnight after they were trapped between two blazes.

The Hood River Sheriff’s Office said Sunday afternoon that the final group of hikers left the Wahtum Lake area at the bottom of the trail and were headed by bus to meet with their friends and family.

Deputy Joel Ives said no hikers were missing but one hiker was taken out by ambulance for exhaustion and dehydration.

Many of the hikers had gone up the Eagle Creek Trail on Saturday to swim at the popular waterfalls and pools, but a fire broke out nearby.

The only other way out was longer and more difficult, and it was getting dark, so officials told them to spend the night near Tunnel Falls.

Mountain Wave Search and Rescue dropped supplies to the hikers.

Mountain Wave president Russ Gubele says search and rescue teams headed up the second trail on Sunday morning and led the hikers out the 14 miles toward Wahtum Lake.

"It's horribly smoky," Gubele said. "Ash is coming down. It's like a Mount Saint Helens eruption all over again."

On Saturday, 14 hikers were brought out and returned to Eagle Creek and three hikers were rescued by National Guard helicopter.

About 130 homes in Cascade Locks are under evacuation orders because of the flames.

A Red Cross shelter was set up at the Skamania County Fairgrounds, across the Columbia River in Stevenson, Washington.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has issued Level 3 (Go!) evacuations for Larch Mountain and the communities of Dodson and Warrendale. The communities of Latourell and Bridal Veil are in Level 2 (Be Ready) evacuation status.

East Corbett is under a Level 3 (Be Set) evacuation and the rest of Corbett is under Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation. The Red Cross has opened a shelter at Mount Hood Community College (26000 SE Stark Street, for all Warrendale and Dodson residents.

The Hood River County Sheriff issued Level 3 (Go) evacuations for everything south of I-84 in Cascade Locks. All prior Level 1 evacuations have been increased to Level 2 (Set) by the sheriff’s office.

Estimated containment date is Saturday, September 30.

Tall timber contributed to explosive fire behavior Monday afternoon with 3/4 mile spotting, torching and wind-driven runs.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal task force is in the area doing structure protection. Additional resources have been ordered to aid in the effort.

A thermal trough will continue with hot, dry and unstable conditions with east winds overnight and through tomorrow.