The Columbia River - Yacolt Burn, 1902, Washington

Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"1902 Yacolt Burn, Washington"

Includes ... Yacolt Burn, 1902 ... Yacolt Burn State Forest ... Yacolt, Washington ... Monk Parakeet ...

Yacolt Burn, 1902 ...

In 1902, a fire known as the "Yacolt Burn" became the largest forest fire every recorded in the State of Washington. Between September 11 to 13, the fire burned more than 370 square miles and killed 38 people. The fire began just north of Carson, Washington, where dry winds from Eastern Washington carried it west and north, moving 36 miles in 36 hours. Smoke darkened the skies causing some local residents to fear an eruption of Mount St. Helens or Mount Rainier. A steamboat on the Columbia River had to use a searchlight to navigate, Portland, Oregon was covered in one-half an inch of ash, while the street lights were on at noon in Seattle, Washington, 160 miles away. The town of Yacolt, Washington, was evacuated as the fire neared the town, coming close enough to blister paint on the town's 15 buildings. Fortunately the wind changed, causing the fire to veer north towards the Lewis River, where it burned itself out.

Views around Yacolt ...

Image, 2011, Yacolt, Washington, click to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Mercantile, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.

Click image to enlarge

City Hall, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.

This old brick building was occupied by City Hall from 1908 until 2009, when City Hall moved a few blocks over into a newer building. After the Yacolt Burn of 1902, the building was made of brick to last forever. The building also doubled as the town jail. Today the town of Yacolt hopes to turn the building into a museum.

Click image to enlarge

Home, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.

Yacolt Burn State Forest ...

The 90,000-acre Yacolt Burn State Forest is located on the west side of the Cascade Mountain range, east of Vancouver, south of the Lewis River, and ends north of the Columbia River community of Washougal. It includes areas such as Silver Star Mountain and Larch Mountain.

Yacolt's Monk Parakeets ...

Click image to enlarge	Monk Parakeet nest, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.
Click image to enlarge	Monk Parakeet nest, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.
Click image to enlarge	Monk Parakeet, at nest, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.
Click image to enlarge	Monk Parakeet, at nest, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.
Click image to enlarge	Monk Parakeet, Yacolt, Washington. Image taken April 19, 2011.

From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, ...

Return to
Menu

^*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003

Sources: "historylink.org" website, 2011, written by David Wilma, 2003; Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Yacolt Burn State Forest Map (notes on reverse), 1991;

All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.