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Aug.
31, 2018
Contacts:
Chris
Havel, OPRD, 503-931-2590
Don
Hamilton, ODOT, 503-704-7452
Rachel
Pawlitz, USFS, 541-308-1744
MULTNOMAH FALLS -- Visitors to the Columbia River Gorge over the
Labor Day weekend should remember that significant hazards remain in the
aftermath of the Eagle Creek Fire and to respect the closed areas.
With
the three-day holiday approaching, the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department and Oregon Department of Transportation remind
hikers, bikers and visitors that areas remain closed due to significant
dangers. These include rockfall, landslides, and trees weakened by the Eagle
Creek Fire, which started one year ago Sunday.
All
three agencies are working to re-open facilities still closed by the fire.
Six
miles of the Historic Columbia River Highway have been closed since last Sept.
4, two days after the start of the fire. The section of road from Bridal Veil
to Ainsworth is still seeing falling rock and trees, which can come down
without warning.
Work
is still under way to make this section of road safe with no timeline set for
re-opening.
Visitors need to remember that ODOT’s Interstate 84 parking lot at
Multnomah Falls fills quickly and closes frequently on busy days. Parking at the Falls
is extremely limited, with 2,000 to 2,500 vehicles per day in a lot with 186
spaces.
The
gates close as often as 20 times on a busy day, sometimes as quickly as every
seven minutes.
Travelers should respect the closures and not park in the I-84
eastbound fast lane waiting for the gates to open, which is extremely
hazardous.
Due to dry conditions, campfires are still banned on state and
federal lands within the Gorge. Portable cooking stoves and lanterns with liquefied
or bottled fuel are permissible, though propane fire pits are not. Fireworks
are always illegal on state and federal lands.
The best advice? Plan ahead, go early, go late or take the
Columbia Gorge Express. Riders can board the bus at Rooster Rock State Park or
take TriMet’s MAX train and meet the bus at the Gateway Transit Center.
The Forest Service has re-opened about 60 miles of the 122 miles of
trail impacted by the fire. With its partners, the Forest Service has been
working on the west end trails such as Angels Rest, Devils Rest, the
Wahkeena-Larch Mountain loop (with Larch Mountain stopping at the junction),
Vista Point, and Return trail and believe they are still on track to open at
the same time as the Historic Columbia River Highway.
The
timeline is not yet known with all three agencies working closely to make sure
all proper safety measures are in place.
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