Eagle Creek fire

Labor Day weekend marked the second anniversary of the start of the Eagle Creek Fire, which burned almost 50,000 acres of forest land in the Columbia River Gorge.

More people in the Northwest are worried about wildfires than they were four years ago. A new poll has found people in Washington are now five times more likely to say they’ll feel the effects of wildfires. In Oregon, people are three times more likely to worry about wildfires.

A year ago, the Eagle Creek Fire was spreading quickly through the Columbia River Gorge. The fire ravaged many popular hiking trails, burning footbridges, toppling trees and creating hazardous landslides.

A small hot spot flared up early Tuesday morning about a half-mile east of the Herman Creek Trailhead. It’s less than a quarter of an acre with little chance that it will spread. Firefighters are using nearby creek water to extinguish it.

The judge in the Eagle Creek Fire case has ordered the teen boy who admitted starting the blaze to pay $36.6 million in restitution.

The U.S. Forest Service plans soon to reopen some of the trails in the Columbia River Gorge that have been closed since the Eagle Creek Fire last year.

More than 30 popular hiking trails on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge remain closed because of hazards left in the wake of last year's Eagle Creek wildfire. That has park rangers wrangling crowds on the unburned Washington side of the Gorge.

The U.S. Forest Service gave an update on the conditions of Columbia River Gorge trails recently, indicating that some of the most damaged trails “may take several years to reopen.” Forest Service employees and volunteers have been working since the fall to assess damage from the Eagle Creek Fire to more than 20 miles of trails.

Now that the fall rains have begun, the fire danger at Multnomah Falls has declined. But Oregon’s popular gem still won’t open anytime soon.

Federal workers say they are trying their best to keep the water flowing and the power going at Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River Gorge despite the…