Re: The Aftermath Of Fire In The Gorge ... An Eyewitness View

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: : Bottom line? I couldn't take it anymore. I have heard, from reliable sources, every possible scenario ... from total devastion to mere underbrush burning. Most leaned towards the former. So, despite feeling ill, I decided to go ahead, as planned. I expected the very worst; hoped for a miracle.

: : As I drove northward, and reached North Cove, I anxiously searched the skies for signs of smoke. The air was  crisp & clear, but some gray, low-lying clouds made it difficult to figure. Were these remnants of the rain that passed through during the past 24-36 hours, or were they smoke? It wasn't till my return trip that I knew for certain. Traveling up Highway 221, I caught a glimpse of Hawksbill Mountain, one of the prominent peaks of Linville Gorge. It looked like it might be scorched, but I wasn't sure. "What did it usually look like?" I tried to recall. To no avail. Other than possibly seeing ominous looking "smoke" clouds & what appeared like it might be a blackened Hawksbill, everything was normal. Oh, in the flats of the Cove, were several helicopters, port-a-johns, EMS vehicles, and a couple of large trucks that looked like they contained some sort of fire-fighting chemical ... I don't know. The evidence was there. There WAS a fire!

: : So, the climb to the crest of the Blue Ridge began. This was exciting in a most lurid way. I nervously scanned every view. Nothing. All was normal. Upon reaching the crest, it was good to see that Louise's was still there. All of the village of Linville Falls looked like always. THAT was comforting.

: : I decided to go to Wiseman's View. From there, one is afforded what is probably the best overall view of the Gorge, up & down, from the Falls of Linville to Shortoff Mountain. I could pretty much see all the terrible damage, sure to be present, from there. Turned off on the Kistler Memorial Highway ... very fancy name for a dirt road that parallels the Gorge on the west side, leading to most of the trail heads in this wilderness area. 

: : Slowly, I proceeded ... nothing. I came upon the log cabin that serves as National Forest HQ's & parked. The place was locked up, but I walked around. Faintly, I could smell smoke ... very faintly. As I looked through the woods, everything appeared in order. I was beginning to feel relief.

: : Got back in the car & continued. It's a 4 mile drive along this "Highway" to Wiseman's View. At each trail head, including at the Forest Service's Linville Falls parking area, were the usual vehicles parked, carrying, I assumed, hikers. All was amazingly normal looking. About halfway, things began to change. First thing I noticed was that the plentiful rhododendron, on the Gorge side of the road, were brown ... dead. On the opposite side ... green, as always. Then I began to notice scorched earth ... the ground through the forest on the Gorge side was black. But, the forest was still there!

: : The only moving vehicles I saw were a sheriff's car, a couple of EMS vans, and an empty school bus. I got to the little pull-out for Wiseman's View & parked. All was serene & the forest, other than the blackened floor, looked fine. I was getting very optimistic; yet, it was surreal ... this couldn't be! I strolled along the empty trail, anticipating, with mixed emotions, the formally wonderous view that lay just a bit ahead.

: : It began to open up. The expanse of Gorge was coming into view. I approached cautiously, not fully sure I really was prepared for this. There it was. Linville Gorge. Still there. Hawksbill, Table Rock, Shortoff ... all there. I could see the rock face near the falls back up the northern end. I walked to another vantage point, searching for disaster ...

: : There was none! Honest! It was far better looking than I could ever have imagined in my wildest dreams! This was FANTASTIC. The river flowed down below, of course. But the TREES! They were THERE! Instead of this black & charred, desolate landscape I expected to see, there was GREEN! I scanned the ridges on the other side with binoculars. I located the Chimneys. There were trees, still, on those ridges. I've got to tell you, other than a blackened forest floor, that was noticeable nearby, and a few little tufts of smoke spiraling skyward from the Gorge floor, it was hardly any different.

: : There were a couple of EMS guys there. I started a conversation. They pointed out a few of the ravines where there was some tree damage, and they explained how the back fires were set from down at Shortoff, with Lake James just beyond. Now, I'm not here to tell you that everything is fine ... to accentuate that point, a tree fell somewhere down below, echoing through the Gorge. One couldn't tell, at first, where. Then, smoke began to column upward from near the river, pinpointing the spot. I didn't walk the woods much, and never got even close to Top of the World, except with binoculars. The EMS guys told me the trails were ALL reopened today, and the fire fighting was basically done with, other than mop-up & clearing trails. So, everything is not fine, but folks, I'm here to tell you that as far as I could see, there is very little damage, aesthetically, that a year or two won't fix. A 10,000 acre fire - burning for what, a week? - appears to have been more a "clean up" than anything else!

: : Bottom line? I fully expect, come next June as we stand up there at the Top of the World, to see, more or less, what we've always seen ... one of the most spectacular views to be found in this part of the country.

: : I took pics ... they're at the one-hour photo place right now. Will post a few sometime over the weekend.

: Rich,
:     Thank you! Thank you!   So glad to hear it wasn't as bad as we imagined, though I'm sure there are some bad spots.  Really appreciate the prompt report!



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