Three Months Later, the Columbia River Gorge Fire Is Completely Contained

Blaze started by fireworks tossing kids Sept. 2 covered nearly 50,000 acres but is now history.

(Daniel Stindt)
By Nigel Jaquiss

The U.S. Forest Service announced this afternoon that the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is fully contained.

That announcement comes nearly three months after teenagers tossing fireworks near the Eagle Creek trail on Sept. 2 accidentally started the blaze, which eventually spread to nearly 50,000 acres and caused the closure of many of the gorge's most popular hiking trails.

The Oregonian first reported the Forest Service announcement. It doesn't mean everything in the gorge has stopped burning—just that firefighters have got the blaze entirely under control.

On Wednesday, Multnomah Falls—which was surrounded by the blaze but emerged mostly unscathed—officially reopened to the public.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.