Opal Creek Wilderness Oregon – Recovery from the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire

Over Labor Day Weekend in 2020 the Beachie Creek Fire went from a small fire in the Opal Creek Wilderness to a major conflagration forcing Level 3 evacuations of many towns in the Santiam Canyon of the West Cascades as well as a small group of people living at the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center’s Jawbone Flats in the middle of the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area and Wilderness. The designation of this SRA and Wilderness area is a history lesson of the “timber wars” of the 1980s and 90s, with the official federal establishment of the areas occurring in 1998, a brief summary of which can be found in the Opal Creek – History of Jawbone Flats webpage linked in the documents below. Our work begins shortly after the 2020 fire with the first full data set researching the recovery of six different habitats within the area collected in 2023. In the link below you will find additional links to:

* the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center webpage about the history of the location

* 360 degree videos about the fire and first visits back to the site by Opal Creek staff after the fire

* a lesson plan outlining how researchers use this information in their classroom

* a version of the 2023 data sets that are usable by beginner students

* a template for a poster project write-up after the data analysis.

Link to Content: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18mgdxq-JLf-IGlzhgkpg7h0kAr2YvKYn1jlVUY7w4ZQ/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.erilkjo751f2

Content:

Abiotic Processes: Forest Fire, Erosion
Biotic Processes: Recovery from fire, ecological succession, competition, mutualism, decomposition
Climate Change: The effect of increased drought and increased wind on forest fires.
Culture, Sociology, Politics: While not the focus of this research, the establishment of the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area and Wilderness provides an amazing illustration of environmental activists uniting with a mining company to thwart the logging of an ancient forest in the West Cascades in Oregon. This story is featured in the 1989 film titled Ancient Forests: Rage Over Trees that was narrated by Paul Newman and aired on Turner Broadcasting System despite active resistance by logging companies.
Human-Environment Interactions: While this was started by a natural lightning strike, the size and speed of the fire was influenced by drought and wind conditions related to climate change. As the fire grew many additional fires were started by the failure of power lines. As the forest recovers, humans are logging salvage trees outside the SRA and Wilderness areas, rebuilding homes, and investigating the recovery.
Field Stations and Marine Labs:
Natural History or Habitats: Our research in the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area and Wilderness Areas is following the recovery at six locations that are culturally relevant to the both history of Opal Creek and to generations of hikers. Details of the locations are given in the link. The six locations are: Gold Creek, Hewitt Old Growth, Merten Mill, Opal Pool, Skyhouse, and Battle Ax Creek.
Research: This investigation of the recovery is spearheaded by Jennifer Johns from Chemeketa Community College and Megan Selvig from the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center. We are currently monitoring the return of lichens, fungi, vascular plants, tree seedlings, and birds. Additionally, we are following the fate of the standing dead (and few living) trees in three 1/20th of an acre plots in 6 culturally relevant locations within the SRA and Wilderness areas (for a total of 18 plots).

Content Type: Other

Content Format: Other

Production Date: 11/03/2025
Creator: Jennifer Johns
Contributor: Chemeketa Community College and Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center
Contributor Affiliation: University
Contact: Jennifer Johns, jennifer.johns@chemeketa.edu