The Bear Creek greenway is a roughly 20 mile bicycle and walking path that parallels Bear Creak from Ashland through Talent, Phoenix and Medford and into Central Point. The path and the creek also parallel Interstate 5 and Highway 99 through the valley.
The origin point of the Almeda Fire was near the Ashland Water Treatment Plant just off Almeda Street in the Quiet Village Neighborhood in Ashland which is also very close to the southern terminus of the greenway. The winds that day were perfectly aligned to carry the flames up the greenway and into the dense vegetation along the creek. But in the mean-time it took out many homes along Eagle Mill Road and in the Valley View area as well as the Burger King at the Valley View Interchange. From there it was a hop, skip and a jump into the south end of Talent and up Highway 99.
I borrowed this image from the internet to give a better picture of the extent of the fire.
And this map I created to show more specifics on the neighborhoods burned, especially in Talent where I live. It’s only meant to be a rough approximation so please don’t take it too literally.
I’m still not convinced that there were not multiple origin points along the Greenway but officials have, understandably, been playing the investigation pretty close to the vest. I am quite certain that when I evacuated at 2pm there was already a column of black smoke ahead of me in Phoenix while the column of black smoke behind me had not yet made its way into Talent. Still, it was a wind driven fire and embers can carry a very long way.
Though initially closed in the wake of the fire I was pleased to read that as of yesterday the Greenway is now open north of Suncrest Road. My favorite walking route is from Suncrest north to where the trail intersects with the freeway as it loops around a rest stop and is (or was) somewhat sheltered from the freeway noise. I’ll try to feature a walk through that stretch in a future blog. The Greenway remains closed south of Suncrest due to safety concerns but I observed a number of bikers and a few walkers on the section south of Lynn Newberry Park yesterday. Might be safer on the Greenway than riding or walking the shoulder of 99 at that.
One of the many sad things about this fire is the loss of wildlife habitat. I saw a great blue heron flying over the neighborhood looking a little lost the other day, or maybe just looking for some place green to land. These Mallards I spotted on Bear Creek the other day seemed content. If you didn’t know the golden leaves reflected in the water were from fire damage this might be a pleasant autumn scene.
