Serendipitous Moment

In May of 2010 I was in Tillamook, Oregon for an overnight camping adventure along the Oregon Coast.  On the way back to my temporary home in Fossil, OR, I drove the Wilson River Highway through Tillamook State Forest.  I was in the mood to explore, and I'd seen a sign earlier for the Tillamook Forest Center, so I stopped to check it out.


The Tillamook Forest Center is a lovely new facility set in the midst of the state forest.  It is built with green and sustainable principles in mind.  The facility itself is wood and glass and rock and steel.  A wide lagoon across the front is fed by drainage from the roof gutters when it rains (they get over 100 inches of rain a year).  From the lagoon, the water is recycled into the building and used to flush toilets, cool the air, and supply the fire sprinklers.  Wood pellets, waste from nearby logging operations, are used to heat the building in the winter.  


A replica fire lookout tower, forty feet tall, stands at the edge of the parking lot.  Visitors can climb up into it for a bird's-eye view of the grounds and a glimpse into the daily life of a mid-twentieth century fire spotter.  Next to the tower is a monument made of stone and metal mesh, memorializing hotshots and forest fire fighters who have died in the line of duty.  Outside the back door is a deck with a cafe-type seating area.  From the deck, a wood and steel suspension bridge spans the Wilson River and leads to a maze of trails through the forest.


The Forest Center houses a series of interactive exhibits that bring to life the rich history of the Tillamook area, with an emphasis on the story of the Tillamook Burn.  The Tillamook Burn is the name given to a series of wildfires that ravaged the forests in the Tillamook area.  The first fire began in August of 1933, ignited by sparks from the friction of two logs being dragged over one another during a logging operation.  Abnormally dry weather conditions, coupled with record high temperatures and strong winds, fanned the flames.  More than 250,000 acres were destroyed before rains in early September brought a halt to the spread of the fire.  Additional large wildfires occurred in 1939, 1945, and 1951.  


In total over 360,000 acres were burned over that eighteen year period.  This included several tens of thousands of acres at the location of the original fire that burned more than once.  Although all the fires were started by careless logging practices, area residents  began to say they were under a 'six-year jinx'.


I listened to first-hand oral accounts recorded by firefighters, loggers and volunteers who fought the fires.  I stepped into a tree planter's tent to hear tales and view slides of the reforestation effort.  While the fires were detrimental to the environment and economy of the region, there was a bright side as well.  The state of Oregon bought the burned acreage from private landowners and created the state forest, opening the land for public enjoyment.  And many of the innovations made in firefighting techniques and tools are still in use today.  For instance, helicopters were used in a fire effort for the first time, dropping upwards of a billion Douglas fir seeds on steep slopes that were difficult to reach by foot.  In the early 1950's the first women, affectionately referred to as 'cloud girls', were employed as fire lookouts in the area of the Burn.  The lessons learned by the park service, fire fighters, loggers and environmentalists continue to have a lasting impact on logging, reforestation, and general forest stewardship.


Processing this information, I wandered outside onto the bridge.  Below me, the river was clear and shallow.  Aside from a man fishing downstream, few people were about.  A pale grey mist hovered over the treetops.  The pine forest on nearby hills and mountains was green and lush.  It was difficult to believe that the area had ever looked any other way, a true testament to the thousands of volunteers who planted more than 72 million seedlings by hand during the reforesting efforts that lasted from 1949 until 1972.  


When I went back inside, a group of school children had arrived.  Their chaperones herded them into a small theater to see a film about the fire.  As the commotion from the children died down, a large batch of seniors came in.  I eavesdropped on a couple of the men who were talking to the girl behind the gift shop counter.  One of them said they had come down from Vancouver, WA and were stopping at various places of interest along the coast.  Given how many of them there were, I imagined they were part of a tour group traveling by charter bus.


I was unprepared, then when I returned to the parking lot.  I saw the first one, a classy deep blue number along the lines of a vintage Mercedes or Rolls Royce, when I started to back out of my parking spot.  Quickly I pulled back into the space, fumbling for my camera.  That's when I saw the rest of them:  thirty or forty classic Studebakers in every color and model, all in impeccable condition.  Delightful.  I surmised that the group of seniors I'd seen inside were actually members of a car club that took their vehicles out on occasional road trips - and I reveled in the joy of encountering another unexpected boon during my travels.


To learn more about the Tillamook Forest Center, go here:  www.tillamookforestcenter.org