Forest fires and fly fishing
Do forest fires hurt fly fishing? An update from the Clackamas river fire zone.
We had our first Fly Fishing Outing this weekend, in the Clackamas watershed. Five of us–including a pair of Intro to Fly Fishing alums and two other intermediate anglers—hiked and hacked our way through three different spots on two rivers looking for (and finding!) lively fish.
The quest for the elusive Mount Hood National Forest trout is a story for another day. What we found is an ecosystem still in balance, showing signs of resilience after a staggering series of blows.
An infernal Labor Day
It really felt like the end of the world. Brought on by heavy east winds, five megafires flared nearly simultaneously over Labor Day weekend in 2020, coming dangerously close to Oregon's major population centers. It was one of the worst fire years on record for the state. The region was inundated with smoke for weeks due to the forest fires, and thousands lost their homes. It was a very low ebb inside a very difficult year.
When officials added up the destruction, over 850,00 acres had burned in the forest fires. 138,000 acres of the Clackamas watershed alone were part of the Riverside Fire. Riverside burned directly along route 224, the main thoroughfare following the Clackamas River in the Mount Hood National Forest.
