My First Trip Back Up the North Umpqua Since the Fire: First Thoughts

This morning I made it back up the North Umpqua River from the Idleyld Trading Post to Susan Creek Trailhead. Then we headed back and went up to Rock Creek Road. Here are my thoughts on what I saw. The drive starts off at the Idleyld Trading Post and Post Office area. First, it’s awesome going through this area because these places survived and so many homes around that area survived. Idleyld Trading Post opens back up tomorrow morning, Saturday, Sept 19th at 5 am for anyone wanting to grab a bite to eat and support those good folks. This fire was massive. We drove for miles up the North Umpqua Highway and barely made it halfway through the burn area. I think you have to drive for almost 25 miles before you get out of the burn area as you start getting close to Toketee. The North Umpqua Highway remains closed but should be reopened to the public at some point this next week. However, it will likely only be one lane open at a time with a pilot car for weeks, possibly even months to come. It's hard to comprehend how many trees are needing to be removed close to the highway because of the danger they are to the public. With the coming rains, there will likely be rockfalls and mudslides over the coming fall and winter. There are a few areas as you get closer to Susan Creek along the highway that is just total devastation. Both sides of the highway and many places both sides of the river are were hit pretty bad. I think the absolute worst looking area was the Cable Crossing fire area which burned along the highway back in 2015. It burned again and now even looks worse. Charred earth and matchstick trees everywhere. The Tioga bridge survived, which is awesome. The other side of the river there was hit pretty hard and it’s pretty sketchy I was told with lots of trees that need to be taken down. Susan Creek Campground - According to Kyle Reed at DFPA, it experienced a low-intensity fire. It has some tree damage, wind damage, etc but not nearly at the level of devastation seen elsewhere in the area. This is excellent news, especially once you see some of the other areas nearby. Rock Creek was a sad drive. It got hit so hard. We went up the road a few miles and everything was burned as far as you could see in any direction. You really get a sense of the magnitude of this fire when you drive up Rock Creek. Total carnage. However, I am hearing today that the Mill Pond Pavilion area survived, the host area got hit, and the Lone Pine Campground “looks good” according to a source who has seen it. This, again, is very good news considering how hard the area up there got hit. The drive is still beautiful going up the highway. There is still lots of green in places and some trees are starting to turn their fall yellow colors. The river itself is as beautiful as ever. Things will be restored up there one day, and until then, we still have much to enjoy.