Hiker Uses Signal Fire to Request Help on Closed Trail in the Columbia Gorge

Photo: "Summit of Munra Point" OregonHikers.org

(Cascade Locks, OR) -- It was an ancient method, but it worked. A hiker who became stranded on a steep cliff in the Columbia River Gorge is safe now after lighting a signal fire to request assistance. Authorities say someone called 9-1-1 yesterday after seeing smoke from the near Munra Point. The caller said they used a scope to witness the apparent hiker in distress. Multnomah County deputies activated Multnomah County Search and Rescue and sent a highly-skilled mountain rescue team known as the Hood River Crag Rats. The team found a 51-year-old man. The man was able to walk out with the search and rescue team.

Munra Point is an exposed rocky viewpoint located west of Wahclella Falls. It was closed following a fire in 2017, and has not been maintained since.