Presented by Doug Decker

The Tillamook Burn was a series of four devastating wildfires that swept the Oregon Coast Range at six year intervals in the 1930s and 1940s, leaving a 500-square mile swath of burned trees and charred slopes. Come witness how these fires and other past events have shaped the landscape of today’s Tillamook State Forest and how the forest has in turn shaped generations of Oregonians, many who remember the Tillamook simply as “The Burn.”

Using writings, oral history interviews, photographs, maps and stories from those who have known and shaped the forest over many years, forest historian Doug Decker will portray the dramatic changes of the 20^th Century and sketch how that legacy continues to influence the future.

About the Speaker:

Doug Decker retired in 2016 as Oregon’s State Forester. He was Project Leader for the Tillamook Forest Center, a museum that opened in 2006 to tell the story of The Burn and forest. Doug has been a student of the Tillamook Burn for 30 years and has a special interest in examining forest history for clues to the past, present and future. He currently chairs the Forest History Society based at Duke University, and runs a blog devoted to old houses and the history of Northeast Portland (www.alamedahistory.org).

These monthly, free events are open to everyone interested in Oregon and Pacific Northwest history. Co-sponsored by like-minded historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers and historians who expound on topics from Lewis and Clark to shipwrecks, hop growing to women pioneers and far, far beyond. It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp