On the evening of July 12, 2021, a wildfire erupted in the hills above Lyle, Washington. Fanned by gusty west winds, the blaze exploded in size overnight.
The next morning, Frances Fischer, Friends land trust coordinator, headed to the Lyle Cherry Orchard—a 540-acre preserve owned, managed, and stewarded by the land trust—to close its trailhead.
From Highway 14, she could see the flames and plumes of smoke. “The fire was burning in the big oak groves northeast of the town,” she says. “It looked really ominous, looming over the community.” It also appeared to have reached Friends’ property.
Fischer pulled into the preserve’s empty parking lot and roped off its entrance. Her next stop was Lyle High School, the fire- response staging area, where multiple agencies and resources had been called in from across the region.
She learned that the fire was, in fact, burning on Friends’ acreage, as well as threatening a power sub-station and multiple residences. She provided fire managers with maps that delineated the preserve’s trails, potential access roads, and fragile ecological areas to protect, if possible, along with a list of Friends’ emergency contact numbers. These turn-key resources were all developed in recent years in response to increased wildfire activity in the Gorge, Fischer explains.
Fortunately, during the coming days, cooler temperatures and calmer winds helped fire crews save all the structures and contain the blaze to a total of 135 acres. The fire did, however, tear through one-sixth of the preserve.
On Friday, July 23, Friends’ land trust staff inspected the property. “I feared the oaks would be gone, but they proved more resilient than I gave them credit for,” says Sara Woods, Friends stewardship manager, adding that the areas will actually benefit from the clearing of undergrowth.
Overall, the burn was considered moderate due to its patchy nature. The hiking trails were not damaged, and the preserve reopened in late August 2021.
Moving forward, Friends’ land trust plans to collaborate with East Cascades Oak Partnership to conduct research and implement strategies on how to best conserve vulnerable oak habitats while simultaneously reducing the risk of catastrophic fires, a growing threat in the time of climate change.
Cate Hotchkiss is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Hood River with her husband, two children, and labradoodle. View Cate's photography website.
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Living With Fire: Building Long-Term Resilience for the Columbia Gorge
How the Lyle Hill Fire Affected Our Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve (July 28, 2021)