Eagle Creek Fire - wikipedia Eagle Creek Fire This article documents the Eagle Creek Fire, a current wildfire. Information regarding it may change rapidly as more information becomes available ; news reports and other primary sources may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information about this wildfire for all areas. This wildfire is still actively burning and has not been 100 percent contained. Eagle Creek Fire The fire on September 2, 2017 Location Cascade Locks, Oregon, United States Coordinates 45 ° 37 ′ 48 '' N 121 ° 54 ′ 14 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 45.63 ° N 121.904 ° W ﻿ / 45.63 ; - 121.904 Coordinates : 45 ° 37 ′ 48 '' N 121 ° 54 ′ 14 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 45.63 ° N 121.904 ° W ﻿ / 45.63 ; - 121.904 Statistics Date ( s ) September 2, 2017 ( 2017 - 09 - 02 ) -- Burned area 48,831 acres ( 198 km ) Cause Illegal use of fireworks Perpetrator ( s ) teenage minor ( s ) Map Location of the fire in Oregon The Eagle Creek Fire is an ongoing wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. The fire was started on September 2, 2017, reportedly caused by teenagers igniting fireworks during a burn ban. As of October 7, 2017, the fire had consumed 48,831 acres ( 19,761 ha ) and is 50 % contained with an estimated containment date of November 30, 2017. Fire growth was slowed by rain. Highway closures and local evacuations are gradually being lifted. Contents 1 Cause 2 Events 2.1 Merge of Eagle Creek and Indian Creek Fires 2.2 Air quality downgrades 3 Evacuations and closures 4 References 5 External links Cause On September 5, Oregon State Police announced that it had identified the person suspected of starting the wildfire, through the use of fireworks that were illegally set off, as a 15 - year - old boy from Vancouver, Washington. A witness reported seeing a group of teenagers recording the fireworks being lighted and thrown into Eagle Creek Canyon. It was announced on September 8 that Oregon State Police had obtained cellphone video footage from one of the teenagers who had watched while a 15 - year - old Vancouver boy threw a smoking firecracker, allegedly igniting the Eagle Creek Fire. Public Information Officer `` Capt. Bill Fugate says the video will be released through the public records request process once the investigation is closed and the case is adjudicated, if charges are filed '', reported Willamette Week. Events The Eagle Creek Fire was reported on September 2 at 4 : 00 PM in the Columbia River Gorge. By the morning of September 3, the fire had grown to 3,000 acres ( 1,200 ha ). On September 5, the fire hopped over the Columbia River into Washington state, near Archer Mountain. The fire trapped 153 hikers and forced them to stay overnight six miles up the trail, trapped on the other side by the Indian Creek Fire. Mountain Wave Search and rescue dropped supplies from a helicopter to the trapped hikers to sustain them overnight. The next morning, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, along with Mountain Wave Search and Rescue, escorted the hikers out to Wahtum Lake and bussed them back to the Eagle Creek Trailhead. The community of Cascade Locks, Oregon was the first to experience mandatory evacuations, with 283 structures, including 15 businesses, being threatened by the fire. Salmon hatcheries at Cascade Locks were forced to release 600,000 fish six months earlier than expected. The fire also threatens historic structures in the Eagle Creek Day Use Area, specifically those built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The fire also threatened the Multnomah Falls Lodge, which was saved by water tenders. As of September 27, Eagle Creek Fire had burned 48,665 acres ( 197 km ) and was 46 % contained. Rainfall during previous days had significantly contained and newly downgraded the fire. The Incident Command Post was relocated from Hood River County Fairgrounds to the Best Western Columbia River Inn in Cascade Locks. Merge of Eagle Creek and Indian Creek fires In the early hours of September 6, the Eagle Creek Fire merged with the Indian Creek Fire. Fire officials estimated that, together, over 31,000 acres were actively burning. The Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal issued the following statement : The gorge still looks like the gorge... It 's not a wasteland. It 's not a blackened, destroyed no - man 's land. There are trees everywhere and they look good... That 's not to say there is n't damage to some of those trees... But, it 's still a beautiful drive through there and it still looks good. -- Lt. Damon Simmons, Spokesperson, Oregon State Fire Marshall, OregonLive.com The following day, September 7, circumstances led Simmons to update his statement to `` There is significant damage to the trails... it 's going to take a while for them to recover. '' Air quality downgrades With winds blowing westward through September 5, up to one inch of ash fell on the Portland metro area during September 4 and 5. Air quality was officially reduced to an `` unhealthy '' ratings due to smoke and falling ash, forcing many schools to close or cancel outdoor activities. On Friday, September 15, smoky conditions resumed throughout the Portland Metro area. Accompanied by far less falling ash than previously, downgrading air quality to `` unhealthy '' conditions again on Saturday, September 16. Shifting wind conditions and subsequent rain on Sunday, September 17 cleared skies and aided in fire containment. Evacuations and closures Onlookers watching the fire from the Columbia River Gorge, September 4 Multnomah Falls Lodge surrounded by smoke, September 5 Cascade Locks, Oregon was the first area of mandatory evacuation. As of September 5, a number of communities in the area were added to mandatory evacuation. In Multnomah County, mandatory evacuation orders are in place for Larch Mountain, and the communities of Latourell, Bridal Veil, Dodson, Warrendale, and East Corbett. `` Get Set '' evacuations are in place for Corbett and Springdale. An evacuation shelter was established at Mt. Hood Community College. The Columbia River itself was also closed to all marine traffic for 20 miles, from mile marker 126 to 146. The I - 84 corridor from Troutdale, Oregon to Hood River, Oregon, continues to be an active evacuation zone as of September 12th. `` Eastbound I - 84 will remain closed at least another week for rock and tree removal. However, ODOT plans to open the Westbound lanes of I - 84 first. Meanwhile, the Historic Columbia River Highway remains closed with no schedule to reopen. Rocks and trees continue to fall and ODOT is working to keep the highway available for firefighters. ODOT has removed about 2,000 trees that were in danger of falling onto I - 84, but there are about 1,500 trees that crews still need to remove. ODOT hopes to complete that tree removal by early next week. The biggest danger to drivers is the threat of falling rocks, most of them around the Toothrock Tunnel. The work to make this area safe is slow. ODOT has inspected 70 bridges and culverts along I - 84 and found minimal damage. '' A total of 400 residences were under mandatory evacuation notices. In Hood River County, mandatory evacuations are in place for all areas south of Interstate 84 in Cascade Locks. The rest of Cascade Locks was at `` Get Set '' evacuation level. Meanwhile, in Skamania County, Washington, there were mandatory evacuations for Archer Mountain Road, Smith Crops and Deville Road. Mabee Mines Road is also at a `` Get Set '' evacuation level. As of September 9, 2017, the Oregon State Fire Marshal ( OSFM ) task force was on alert for potential evacuation of Lost Lake and Mitchell Point. References ^ Jump up to : `` Eagle Creek Fire ''. Eagle Creek Fire. US Forest Service. Retrieved September 5, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Woolington, Rebecca. `` Eagle Creek fire was likely caused by fireworks ; hikers evacuated ''. OregonLive.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Fire Burning in the Columbia ''. Eagle Creek Fire. The Oregonian. Retrieved September 19, 2017. Jump up ^ IncWeb `` Daily Update Eagle Creek Fire October 7, 2017. '' Jump up ^ `` Level 3 Eagle Creek fire evacuation order lowered to Level 2 ''. OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 18. Jump up ^ Wilson, Anna Griffin Conrad. `` Eagle Creek Fire Witness : Young Hikers Giggled As Firecracker Descended Into Gorge Canyon ''. www.opb.org. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ Green, Aimee ( September 5, 2017 ). `` Witness : Teens giggled as they threw fireworks off cliff, igniting Eagle Creek fire ''. The Oregonian. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ http://www.wweek.com/news/2017/09/08/oregon-state-police-say-they-have-obtained-cellphone-video-from-firecracker-throwing-teens-suspected-of-starting-the-columbia-river-gorge-fire/ `` WW '' / Shepherd, Katie ) Willamette Week : `` Oregon State Police Obtained Cellphone Video From Firecracker - Throwing Teens Suspected of Starting the Columbia River Gorge Fire ; 8 September 2017. '' Jump up ^ `` Eagle Creek Fire ''. InciWeb. US Forest Service. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Eagle Creek fire : Ash - filled hatcheries force early release of 600,000 salmon ''. OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Eagle Creek Fire - Morning Update, September 4, 2017 ''. InciWeb. Retrieved 6 September 2017. Jump up ^ Townsley, Nancy. `` Third Washington County crew heads to gorge to aid wildfire suppression ''. NewsTimes. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Eagle Creek Fire ''. InciWeb. US Forest Service. Retrieved September 20, 2017. Jump up ^ Oregon Live, `` Eagle Creek and Indian Creek fires merge ; estimated 31,000 acres burning '', Noelle Crombie ; September 6, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Multnomah Falls Engulfed in Flames as Out - of - Control Wildfire Races West Through Gorge ''. Willamette Week. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. ^ Jump up to : Oregon Live `` Eagle Creek fire grows, spreads to Washington ; officials say fire a ' high priority ' in the nation '', by Noelle Crombie, 5 & 6 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` Portland Tuesday Weather : Dense wildfire smoke causes ' unhealthy ' air quality ''. OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ TEGNA. `` Portland air quality unhealthy as smoke, ash blow over area ''. KGW. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ News, KATU. `` Eagle Creek Fire, air quality and hot weather cause local school closures ''. KATU. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Live updates : Eagle Creek fire rages in Columbia gorge, threatens Multnomah Falls Lodge ''. OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ Staff, KATU. `` Eagle Creek fire explodes to 10,000 acres, still 0 % contained ''. KATU. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Eagle Creek and Indian Creek Fire - Morning Update, September 5, 2017 ''. InciWeb. Retrieved 6 September 2017. Jump up ^ KOIN6 News : `` I - 84 will stay closed until it is safe to travel '', by Carly Kennelly ; September 11, 2017. Jump up ^ InciWeb : News Release `` Eagle Creek Fire - Evening Update 9 / 9 / 17 '' External links Media related to Eagle Creek Fire at Wikimedia Commons Oregon wildfires Pre-2000 Yacolt ( 1902 ) Tillamook ( 1933 -- 1951 ) 2000 -- 2015 Biscuit ( 2002 ) B&B ( 2003 ) Tumblebug ( 2009 ) Lava ( 2012 ) Long Draw ( 2012 ) Barry Point ( 2013 ) 2017 Chetco Bar Cinder Butte Eagle Creek High Cascades Complex Milli Nash Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eagle_Creek_Fire&oldid=805253359 '' Categories : Current wildfires 2017 Oregon wildfires 2017 Washington ( state ) wildfires September 2017 events in the United States October 2017 events in the United States Columbia River Gorge Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from September 2017 Coordinates not on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 14 October 2017, at 03 : 01. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: what caused the eagle creek fire in oregon
Answer: reportedly caused by teenagers igniting fireworks during a burn ban