Fort Clatsop fire tied to hearth in barracks
PORTLAND – The fire that destroyed a replica of Fort Clatsop early this month was started accidentally by a small fire burning on a hearth in one of the barracks, Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins said Thursday.
The 50-year-old replica near Warrenton on the north Oregon coast was the centerpiece of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.
It commemorated the western terminus of the 1804-06 Corps of Discovery led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The fort resembled the one they built for the winter of 1805-06.
An investigation into the Oct. 3 fire was done by federal, state and local experts.
Jenkins said the joint investigation concluded that the fire started in one of the enlisted men’s quarters. During the day there had been a fire on the room’s open hearth.
“The ignition of the structure fire was the result of those fire activities,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins said normal procedure is to douse the fires completely each evening and to make sure the ashes are cold.
The fires were part of the effort to re-create the ambience in the fort to give a better feeling of what the explorers experienced.
The fire that destroyed the fort broke out at night several hours after the fort had closed for the evening.
Jenkins said the fort’s rustic design, materials used to build it and the condition of the fort all contributed to the blaze.
Jenkins said that will be taken into account when a replacement is built. “Among the new design elements will be a fire detection system,” he said.
Jenkins said the Oregon National Guard, Oregon Department of Forestry, Western Oregon Waste and park staff members have removed the debris.
Next week archaeological work will begin using a magnetometer and ground penetrating radar to see what lies under the site.
Archaeologists and others have made extensive explorations around the replica to try to determine the location of the original, which the explorers occupied for three months. The replica is thought to be at or near the site of the original.
Visitors can watch the archaeologists work, and park rangers will be on site to answer questions daily. All events for the bicentennial celebration will take place as scheduled.