For the best experienceDownload the Mobile App
App Store Play Store
Can Opal Creek, a treasured natural area devastated by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires, come back to life?
Can Opal Creek, a treasured natural area devastated by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires, come back to life?
Can Opal Creek, a treasured natural area devastated by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires, come back to life?

Published on: 09/01/2025

This news was posted by Oregon Today News

Go To Business Place

Description

Five years after the 2020 Beachie Creek fire ravaged Opal Creek, toppled trees are still scattered alongside Opal Creek where the footbridge used to cross above the water. Though the U.S. Forest Service has begun to clear the trail, the beloved swimming hole of Opal Pool is not yet accessible.A sign for the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center at Jawbone Flats. The area has been closed to tourists since the 2020 Beachie Creek wildfire severely damaged most of Opal Creek, including Jawbone Flats.A safe and partial remains of a fireplace sit where a structure used to be at Jawbone Flats at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center.A burned out van sits among the wildfire wreckage at Jawbone Flats at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center.Jawbone Flats at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center.Cabin No. 4 is all that remains at Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Cabin No. 5 was among the structures burned to the ground during the Beachie Creek fire at Jawbone Flats at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center.A pile of rusted metal, a result of the damage of the 2020 Beachie Creek fire, at Jawbone Flats at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center.A salmon sculpture sits among the wreckage from the 2020 Beachie Creek fire at Jawbone Flats at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center.Fallen trees, burned in the 2020 Beachie Creek fire, lay alongside Opal Creek where the footbridge used to cross above the water.Fallen trees, burned in the 2020 Beachie Creek fire, lay alongside Opal Creek where the footbridge used to cross above the water.Megan Selvig, programs director at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center and Dr. Jennifer Johns, a biology faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, look at a plot map along the Opal Creek Trailhead.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Fallen trees, burned in the 2020 Beachie Creek fire, lay alongside Opal Creek where the footbridge used to cross above the water.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.A yellow caterpillar crawls up a charred tree along the Opal Creek trail.Megan Selvig, programs director at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center and Dr. Jennifer Johns, a biology faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, collect vegetation data off the trail leading to Jawbone Flats.Megan Selvig, programs director at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center and Dr. Jennifer Johns, a biology faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, count plant species within a quadrat at one of the research plots off the trail leading to Jawbone Flats.Megan Selvig, programs director at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, measures a young sapling at one of the research plots off the trail leading to Jawbone Flats.Megan Selvig, programs director at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, measures a young sapling off the Opal Creek trail.Megan Selvig, programs director at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center and Dr. Jennifer Johns, a biology faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, return to the Opal Creek trail after collecting data.A silver tag marks tree number 176 along the Opal Creek trail.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.A half-charred wooden bridge along the Opal Creek trail, product of the Beachie Creek fire five years ago.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Dr. Jennifer Johns, a biology faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, measures a sapling height along the Opal Creek trail.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.Touring the wildfire wilderness recovery along the Opal Creek Trailhead and Jawbone Flats, five years after the devastating Beachie Creek fire.

A month and half after the Beachie Creek fire in 2020, Megan Selvig cried as she flew by helicopter over the Opal Creek natural area known by generations of Oregonians as a sanctuary of old-growth forest and crystal clear waters.

News Source : https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2025/09/can-opal-creek-a-treasured-natural-area-devastated-by-the-2020-labor-day-wildfires-come-back-to-life.html

Other Related News

Heat advisory issued for Oregon until Thursday evening
Heat advisory issued for Oregon until Thursday evening
Heat advisory issued for Oregon until Thursday evening

09/03/2025

On Wednesday at 1230 pm the National Weather Service released a heat advisory in effect un...

🔥Hot Deal This Week: Carlton Farms Sausages!🔥 Only $4.99 ea. Don't Miss out 9/3-9/9/25 *Selected Varieties 12 oz
🔥Hot Deal This Week: Carlton Farms Sausages!🔥 Only $4.99 ea. Don't Miss out 9/3-9/9/25 *Selected Varieties 12 oz
🔥Hot Deal This Week: Carlton Farms Sausages!🔥 Only $4.99 ea. Don't Miss out 9/3-9/9/25 *Selected Varieties 12 oz

09/03/2025

Hot Deal This Week Carlton Farms Sausages Only 499 ea Dont Miss out 93-9925 Selected Vari...

Lady Gaga drops new single as she guest stars on Netflix's 'Wednesday'
Lady Gaga drops new single as she guest stars on Netflix's 'Wednesday'
Lady Gaga drops new single as she guest stars on Netflix's 'Wednesday'

09/03/2025

Lady Gagas new single coincides with her appearance in episode seven of the shows second s...

Officials euthanize cougar in Corvallis after livestock killing, multiple sightings: 'last resort'
Officials euthanize cougar in Corvallis after livestock killing, multiple sightings: 'last resort'
Officials euthanize cougar in Corvallis after livestock killing, multiple sightings: 'last resort'

09/03/2025

Cougar sightings have spiked in Corvallis Officials say the animal euthanized is likely on...

Florida to end all vaccine mandates, create commission to 'Make America Healthy Again'
Florida to end all vaccine mandates, create commission to 'Make America Healthy Again'
Florida to end all vaccine mandates, create commission to 'Make America Healthy Again'

09/03/2025

The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 ...

ShoutoutGive Shoutout
500/500