Escaping the Riverside Fire in Oregon — A Camp Host’s Experience
Losing Livelihood from Forest Fire
Perhaps I’m entirely naive, but when I took the camp hosting gig in Mt. Hood National Forest, I never thought for a moment I’d be evacuated for a forest fire that begins only three miles from my campground; let alone a forest fire that sets records for the state and spreads smoke literally across the nation.
My resident campground, Ripplebrook (approximately three miles north of the point of origin of the Riverside fire), wasn’t scheduled to close until October, but the fire evacuated Riot and me out of the forest on September 8.
Before the Fire
The morning of Tuesday, September 8 was very average. Labor Day weekend was fairly busy and several of the campgrounds were set to close that day.
Part of my work for the day was to help close down Roaring River Campground which was about ten miles east of Ripplebrook.
As I drove down the hill to Roaring River the air was hazy, like mild fog. I took notice but was unsure of how it could be foggy given that the relative humidity was low enough to enact a forest-wide fire ban since the first week of August.
I dismissed the “fog” as my unfamiliarity with the Pacific Northwest and continued about my drive.
When I arrived at Roaring River and started the end of the season cleaning I could smell the aroma of a campfire which was disappointing and frustrating as for the last month we have been policing illegal campfires and calling them into the Ranger. I even got to witness campers receiving a $1,000 ticket and being kicked out of the forest by the Fire Marshall for failure to respect the fire ban.
As is my regular practice during the fire ban, I went to and felt each fire pit in the campground but all were cold. Over the few hours it took to winterize the campground, the smell of smoke became stronger.
On my way back uphill to my seasonal home at Ripplebrook campground, I passed the camp store and Fire Station. I stopped in to inquire about the smoke, which was much denser uphill.
The attendant at the store didn’t have much information outside of a fire on the other side of the mountain she considered to be the source of the smoke, but she also said that that fire was only 5 acres and we agreed that it didn’t add up to the level of smoke that was continuing to accumulate.
We called into our supervisors who assured us there was nothing to worry about and all of the fires were being contained — aka go back to work. So we did.
The Smoke Thickens
I went back to my campground and continued my day per usual as the smoke and the smell of fire became progressively stronger as time passed. The wind picked up too. The trees leaned side to side and I was sure at points they would just bend right over.
Branches were blown down but cleared any structures. The gusts were strong and moved the smoke in the sky over the sun making the afternoon seem like the evening.
My dear friend Robert was the camp host at Riverside Campground, 2.5 miles south of Ripplebrook. Riverside was closing that day and his contract was terminating so after work he came to Ripplebrook to camp by Riot and I — partially because we spend most evenings visiting anyway and partly because he has been around enough forest fires to know that something was very much not alright.
While he could have stayed the rest of his contract, including that night, in the serenity of a closed and gated campground, he opted to pack up and sleep closer to the Fire Station and a friend… and thankfully he did…
When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
As we visited early in the evening the smoke was dense enough to irritate eyes and throat, and the wind was whipping in fits. Small branches and tree debris fell on us as we chatted by the picnic table. The gusts were strong enough to overpower the sound of the brook.
Having enough of the unknown, I drove up to the camp store as they were closing to re-inquire about what was going on — the store attendant’s husband was the assistant operations manager for the mountain so I assumed the information would be quality.
Conveniently both husband and wife were there and looking a bit frantic. The assistant operations manager calmly assured me there was nothing to worry about and that the fire was contained. He said they think there is one closer, but not close enough to worry about, and that the firefighters had it under control.
If there is anything to worry about, he assured, someone will come to tell me.
I felt like my intuition had a different story but considering this is my first season as a camp host, my first summer in the Pacific Northwest, and my first experience with forest fire — I took my boss’s instruction.
A Full Campground and Fire On The Way
I drove back to camp and started packing. My campground was full of campers, not a spot vacant, and I had two campers come to ask about safety considering the smoke.
I relayed what my boss told me and explained that if an evacuation is ordered I or the Fire Department will come through to let them know — as was the evacuation plan given to me when the fire ban went into place.
At the advice of my intuition, I started packing all of my camping gear into the truck and trailer.
The situation was getting denser and smokey as the night fell. Robert could even swear he felt heat in the wind. I prepared everything except hitching my trailer before retiring for the evening.
I was anxious as I fell to sleep but faith allowed my body and mind to rest. At about 2:30 am I woke to the intense smell of burning, but soothed myself back to sleep.
At about 5 am a pounding knock came on my door and my supervisor was hollering “Lexa, Lexa! Pack up, they have us preparing for evacuation!”
He explained there was fire a meager three miles away that was the cause of all the smoke and that the wind storm was enraging it.
The fire was not contained.
Level 2 Evacuation
The firefighters were still assessing the situation but we were on Level 2 “prepare to leave” orders. My supervisor explained it probably wasn’t a big deal, advised us to not stress it, insisted forest fires happen all the time like what we saw on the other side of the mountain, but concluded that we are prepared to go.
He told me and Robert that we may as well wait to see if they even call a level 3 “get out now” evacuation before we go anywhere or even alert the campers.
I secured my loose belongings, hitched the trailer, and waited, watching the sunrise struggle as the light was consumed in smoke.
Bring on the Brigade
About two hours later the fire brigade came through to tell us that indeed we all needed to evacuate now.
The fireman explained he would tell each camper in my full campground and advised we leave immediately. We headed his instruction.
Riot and I warmed up the truck as we watched the firemen make rounds around the campground instructing the campers to evacuate.
As we pulled out of the campground and onto highway 224, it was blocked off to the left which headed toward Timothy Lake or Bagby Hot Springs at the road split due west.
We turned right to follow the evacuation route into Estacada, OR. The wind had blown over several thick tree limbs onto the highway creating hazards and single-lane access at times.
Firetrucks were the only oncoming traffic as we drove in procession down the hill in smoke thick as pancake batter. Visibility was very limited, maybe a quarter-mile.
I was relieved to reach Estacada but the smoke followed. The sky was dark despite being mid-morning.
You could taste the fire in your throat as you breathe. Trouble still felt near and imminent. The sky continued to darken until above the city looked like black opal.
It was still early enough in the evacuation that most of the town continued as normal, until evening. The fire had moved seventeen miles that day. The city was now under level two evacuation.
Sleeping on the Street
I spent the night on a side street adjacent to the Estacada Veteran’s Memorial. Waking several times to the smell of burning but noticing no movement from the other evacuated RVs and vans lining the street with me.
The Operations Manager for the company came in the morning and knocked on the trailer door. She let me know they anticipated the campgrounds, the camp store, the company compound to be gone.
Tears welled in her eyes as she grieved her home and work for the last four years. Sniffling up the hurt to find a silver lining she managed, “There should be a good harvest for morels next year.” True, the mushroom grows best in soil nourished by wood ash after fires.
Naturally, my contract was terminated early due to the fire and there is no promise my recently signed agreement to return next season will be a possibility.
As I write this, ten days since we were evacuated, the Riverside fire, and many others, continue to engulf Oregon.
The Riverside fire is yet to be contained and has claimed many homes and several lives. Estacada has only just today lowered their evacuation level back down to two which means they may need to evacuate again at any moment.
The fires in Oregon this season are unprecedented and leaving towns devastated and destroyed. The cause of the Riverside fire is yet to be determined as of this writing.
How To Help
In order to help the many affected by Oregon’s wildfires, please consider donating cash, giving blood, supporting local charities, or donating to the Red Cross.
These actions often create a greater impact than rushing to volunteer amid the chaos of such a crisis.
The Red Cross offers a simple way to donate: Text “WILDFIRES” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. The Red Cross also has a hotline for donations (800-Red-Cross).
The Estacada Area Food Bank takes donations at estacadafoodbank.org
So Long Mt. Hood
I feel honored and privileged to have known Mt. Hood National Forest as it was and to make it home for so many months. While I never saw a bear as hoped, I did make friends with many banana slugs and some ravens.
I am blessed to have gotten to know so many good humans in the nearby communities and thankful for their safety, and mine.
In the below videos I chronicle the evacuation from Mt. Hood National Forest as it unfolded. You will see my growing understanding of the seriousness of the fires develop in the progression of the three videos as well as the decline in conditions.
