[PCA] AP ARTICLE: Oregon grieves for natural places wiped out by wildfires

[Carr, Amanda (Mandie) N]

*TITLE: Oregon grieves for natural places wiped out by wildfires
*AUTHOR: Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press
*DATE: September 22, 2020

*PREVIEW:

DETROIT LAKE, Ore. (AP) - Oregonians are grieving the loss of some of their most treasured natural places after wildfires wiped out campgrounds, hot springs and wooded retreats that have been touchstones for generations in a state known for its unspoiled beauty.

The flames that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed at least nine people also encroached on beloved state parks, scorched some of Oregon's best-known hiking trails and raged through a whitewater rafting mecca.

"Nature IS the icon in Oregon. We have this collective grief and some of that is (from) growing up here," said Eden Dawn, an editor at Portland Monthly magazine who wrote an essay about the wildfires. "We just didn't have New York City. We didn't have Hollywood. We didn't have these big fancy things, and Portland wasn't cool until a few years ago."

The fires damaged one of the nation's last low-elevation, old-growth forests, which includes Douglas fir trees up to 1,000 years old. A forest center built on the ruins of an old mining town that hosted thousands of Oregon children was largely reduced to ashes.

"My memories of growing up are sitting in a river and looking at the fish go by and spotting osprey around you," Dawn said. "In this moment, when you're watching your state and your childhood burn, it's utter hopelessness. There's really nothing you can do - and that is the feeling we're all feeling."

...

Read full article: https://apnews.com/cb854c9d1e941da9ca43a1b5a8651dcb

[cid:image001.jpg at 01D691BF.7E306450]
In this Sept. 3, 2020, photo provided by the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, fire retardant is dropped at Jawbone Flats in the Opal Creek Wilderness in Oregon. Oregonians are grieving the loss of some of their most treasured natural places after wildfires wiped out campgrounds, hot springs and wooded retreats that have been a touchstone for generations in a state known for its unspoiled beauty. (Augustus Gleason/Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center via AP)
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