A group of Salem teenagers who were trapped by the Eagle Creek Fire say they accept the apology of the boy who started the blaze.
The 10 students, mostly from South Salem High, were among 150 hikers stranded overnight by a fire that became one of the most damaging in Oregon history.
“Watching the sky glow that night, with the fire just a few miles away from us, was one of the craziest experiences of my life,” said Maya Merrill, a junior at South Salem High. “When I look back, it almost doesn’t feel real.”
On Friday, a 15-year-old from Vancouver pled guilty to 12 counts involved in igniting the fire. The teen confessed to tossing two firecrackers off Eagle Creek Trail and into the canyon, igniting the fire. He was sentenced to 1,920 hours of community service — almost entirely with the U.S. Forest Service — and five years of probation.
A hearing in May will determine the details of restitution payments by the boy's family.
“I’m sorry to the hikers that were trapped, I am sorry to the people who worried about their safety and their homes that day, and for weeks afterward,” the teen, who authorities didn’t name, said in an apology letter.
Most of the Salem teenagers said they accepted the apology, but said he should have to work to make up for his mistake.
“It really sucked being trapped by the fire, but I accept his apology," said Abby Bork, the youngest member of the group at 15 years old.
"It was incredibly dumb of him to be shooting fireworks off the trail like that, but I'm sure he'll learn from it, and I don't hold a grudge," said Kenneth Utter, 17, from South Salem High. "That's a lot of hours, and it's very appropriate for him to be working to restore the place he destroyed."
Lori Lassen, a mother of one of the stranded hikers, said having her child trapped behind the fire was the most terrifying experience of her life. But, she said, “you’d hate to have a 15-year-old punished in a way that ruins the rest of his life,” she said.
“If my son wouldn’t have made it out — if he would have died in that fire — I don’t think I would be able to forgive him,” Lassen said. “But look: kids are stupid, and teenagers do really dumb things. Mine certainly does. So I think ultimately that community service and restitution is appropriate.”
Trapped at Eagle Creek
It all started on Sept. 2, when Noah Brown, another South Salem High student, sent a text message to his friends suggesting a hike on Eagle Creek Trail.
Ten friends answered the text and they headed out, hiking two miles to popular Punchbowl Falls where they swam and relaxed before turning around to head home.
As they began their return, a group of hikers rushed toward them shouting that a fire was blocking the trail.
Photos: Eagle Creek Fire
“We’re all like, ‘Wait, what are you talking about?” said Theo Lassen, from Sprague High. “I sort of thought they could be joking. ... Then we started to see smoke.”
While most of the group returned to Punchbowl Falls, Brown and Utter decided to see for themselves.
"We rounded one corner, and it was like getting hit with a wall of heat," Brown said. "There was smoke everywhere and flames burning across the trail.
“It was surreal.”
The two rejoined their group along the creek at Punchbowl Falls, where about 150 hikers had gathered.
After a helicopter dropped notes to the stranded hikers, the entire group began hiking toward an evacuation route at the opposite trailhead.
The group made camp past Tunnel Falls, about 8 miles from the original trailhead, but most of the hikers had no food, warm clothing or sleeping bags.
The Salem teenagers ended up laying out wet towels on the ground and trying to sleep that way, Lassen said.
“We called it a ‘cuddle puddle,’” Merrill said. “We tried to keep warm, but most everybody was shivering and I don’t think any of us got sleep.”
The group hiked out the next morning to a grateful collection of parents.
Brown said the experience was actually a fun one.
“That was the best hike I’ve ever been on," Brown said. "Everybody handled themselves really well."
Aftermath
Despite what could have been a traumatizing experience, everyone from the group spoke about the experience with fondness.
"I'm so grateful for the bonds that we formed," Bork said. "I'll never forget our group."
Utter said members of the group still go hiking together. They're planning to hike Eagle Creek Trail once it reopens. Only this time, he said, they'll make sure to be better prepared.
"You never know when somebody will start a fire on the trail you're hiking on," he said.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 10 years. He is the author of the book “Hiking Southern Oregon” and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.