Notes
If I had posted this a few weeks ago it might have been a more difficult "Mystery Monday" post, but I suspect this will be pretty easy for you now. This view of Oak Street is labeled "11:15 AM, 9/17/29." I have yet to find an error in an Alva Day caption. What do you think is going on? More details are welcome, as always.
Yes, as some of you have figured out, 1929 was a year of disastrous wildfires in the Gorge. On 9/17/29 Stevenson Washington was surrounded on three sides by fire, a situation garnering nationwide attention. Here's an account from the Kokomo Indiana newspaper.
Apparently the situation didn't fully abate until December. Let's hope this year isn't a replay of 1929.
Category: [Downtown Hood River]
Tags: 1920s Alva_Day automobile fire Mystery_Monday Oak_Street
Comments
My guess would be an eclipse of some type, since it is at 11:15 in the morning and all the lights are on.
charlott on 24th September 2012 @ 7:09am
Looks like fires on the hillside across the Hood River. September would be a great month for those.
l.e. on 24th September 2012 @ 7:55am
I did not find any information about an actual fire in the HR area, but, Oregon and Washington were plagued by many fires during the month of Sept. 1929.
"Smoke was so dense in the Columbia River Gorge and vicinity from the 16th to the 18th that it was
pitch dark most of the time and it was necessary to carry
lanterns in the daytime in order to see to get around."
http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/058/mwr-058-09-0368.pdf
l.e. on 24th September 2012 @ 8:42am
Wow, fascinating!!
Scott Cook on 24th September 2012 @ 9:36am
Very cool. Can anyone figure out what the lights in the background are? seems smoky, however there appears to be stars in the background(?)
JE on 24th September 2012 @ 10:56am
The Yacolt fire?
"Since August 4 Tho fire has burned since August 4 but until Sunday was considered un- der control A sudden east wind coupled with low humidity and high temperatures however fanned It Into a seething mass and driven before what witnesses called a roaring gale It spread like a prairie fire Throe other firca are burning east of this blaze up the Columbia river as far as White Salmon Wash and fear was felt Monday night that un- less the wind abates these four fires might Join creating tremendous furnace "
JE on 24th September 2012 @ 11:58am
This could be Sisters, right now. We have the Pole Creek fire creating smoke like this until mid-afternoon when it lifts. By morning, it looks like London England again. Ours will not be out and gone until a heavy rain or snow.
Jill Stanford on 24th September 2012 @ 1:38pm
This could be Hood River on September 26, 2012, only with the Milepost 66 fire you couldn't probably see this much of Oak Street for the smoke blanket.
charlott on 27th September 2012 @ 5:38am
I suspect what looks like fire in the background is actually ash falling much nearer to the camera than it appears, illuminated by the lights. In other words, it's an illusion.
Terry on 4th September 2017 @ 12:16pm
If one zooms in, those are street lights, hanging from cables across the street.
spinsur on 11th September 2020 @ 9:54am