As if this story couldn't get any worse, eye witness Liz Fitzgerald reported that when she saw a group of teenage boys lighting fireworks and throwing them down a hill on the Eagle Creek trail, they were unrepentant, laughing at her consternation.
She asked if they realized they'd just started a forest fire. One replied "What are we supposed to do about it now?" How about not starting it in the first place, you little shit? The 15 year old who Liz Fitzgerald identified as the main culprit is now in police custody.
Predictably this has enraged Oregonians. Many are out for blood. Oregon law makes parents liable for only $7,500 worth of damages caused by their children, which most are saying is unacceptably low in this case. It's uncertain what the extent of the punishment will be.
Multnomah Falls, perhaps the most famous local landmark, has been devastated:
Oneonta tunnel, another notable local landmark fondly remembered by many who have passed through it, has also been destroyed. As the supports were wooden, odds are good it will collapse soon and even if not, it's unsafe to utilize or to attempt to reinforce at the moment:
Some are instead calling for mercy and understanding. After all, who among us never did anything stupid when we were kids? However in my opinion, whether the suspect receives mercy should depend on whether anybody dies as a result of this fire. So far no casualties have been reported.
The last fire on this scale was the Yacolt Burn in 1902, which killed a total of 65 Oregonians. It was started by some kids trying to burn a hornet's nest. It's funny, morbidly in this case, how history seems to repeat itself.
There's also been growing recognition that the increasingly hot, dry conditions brought about by gradual warming of the atmosphere and ocean is giving way to an "era of mega-fires", exacerbated by past decisions to squash every little fire the moment it started rather than allowing strategic burns to clear out combustible materials, limiting how large an uncontrolled fire could become.
If any good comes of this tragedy, it will be to raise awareness of, and public support for, experimental controlled burns that forestry experts have been advocating for decades. Such risky measures may prove necessary to manage the much worse risk of Eagle Creek style mega fires going forward.