One of the most beautiful, accessible, and photographed places in the Gorge is the Rowena area.
This area also has two popular Gorge launch sites, Doug’s Beach and Rowena. The last week has seen non-stop powerful winds in most of the Gorge. Meanwhile, lingering high-pressure has dropped the humidity and crushed the marine layer clouds. This has led to very dry grass, shrubs and trees. In short, a recipe for a major fire.
Kiters, wingers and windsurfers love those strong winds but all of us know the fire risk. Indeed, several of our wind-mates lost their houses in the last fire above the Hatchery.
So all of you are wondering about the area damaged by the ongoing 3800-acre Rowena.fire. The following photograph is a NON-OFFICIAL guess of the damage area based on the attached OSFM map.
We have friends who live in that area, and our hearts go out to all the residents of Rowena. Please avoid this area until it is officially open. Thankfully, the Discover Center, Rowena launch site and many houses were saved by heroic firefighters.