Rowena Fire 2014 UPDATED

UPDATE Aug 9:  The fire was listed as 55 % contained this morning, with 3,565 acres total.  I believe that 3 houses burned and my thought and prayers are with the families, but grateful no lives were lost.  3 other structures burned as well.  All evacuations were dropped to Level 1 and people could return to their homes with caution.  Mopping up and burn outs continue and lets hope that wind does not kick back up hard!  So far so good.  I am adding a small collection of images to the first gallery showing what I could see Friday evening.  Some of these fire images have been shown on news like KGW, and I was contacted by CBS in New York about using an image for their coverage of this fire. I am so appreciative of our Firefighter heros that worked so hard in such dangerous condiitions!  Also,  for those who are so broken hearted about the destruction of nature… I have watched several areas now recover following fire and wildflowers will come back better than ever.  Many of the trees have not been killed, just charred on the edges, and will recover.  Dead falls have been cleaned up which will help with pest problems and future fire hazard.  Poison Oak and Ticks might even get slowed down briefly!  Animals and birds for the most part will have moved out of range of fire, and new grass will grow in better than before providing improved grazing for deer and elk.  You will be amazed in a year or three how quickly many things will return.

Original Post:   Rowena Fire started in the switchbacks along Historic Highway 30 just to the East of Rowena Crest in the Columbia Gorge, and just west of the town of Rowena, Oregon.  First spotted August 5th at 9:15 pm, and Showing up in force August 6, the fire rapidly grew in the next 24 hours to 2,600 acres, and then to 3,372 acres by the morning of August 8.  Currently (Aug 8) there are 659 personnel fighting this fire, with 6 Helicopters dumping water on the fire and many Fire engines are used around the perimeter. 740 residences are threatened by the fire in Rowena and the Chenowith area.  Back burning operations have begun between Rowena and The Dalles.

This short timelapse video is a video speeded up to 16x speed and a few still photographs added in… no sound only the images.   Just click on the link from this sentence.

Here is a gallery of the Photographs taken August 6 in the evening Click on an image to see it larger, and use arrows to see the rest of the images.

Some of my better images will also be in the Wildfire gallery on my SmugMug website.  Go there by clicking on this link for wildfire gallery where they can also be purchased.

Thank you for your visit.  I have always been fascinated with documenting area Wildfires as you can see in the Wildfire Gallery Link which will open in a new tab.

Even more complete collection of local wildfire images can be seen on my Flickr Page here showing several photo albums from different Fires.  Click on this link to go to my Flickr Wildfire Collection and it will open in a new tab in your browser.