TROUTDALE -- The falls still roar. The lodge still stands. But the fire still burns.

Multnomah Falls, obscured by wildfire smoke only a day earlier, was in full view Wednesday, tumbling more than 600 feet down into the Columbia River Gorge. The sight was a welcome one for Oregonians, many saddened by a wildfire marring one of the state's most treasured corridors.

The Eagle Creek fire, which started Saturday and now covers about 31,000 acres, is 0 percent contained, but it hasn't left the gorge a charred wasteland, either.

"One thing that was encouraging is there are still a lot of green trees, there's still a lot of area that did not burn," said Traci Weaver, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

"The fire did not burn through there and burn every tree and every green plant in its path. And I think people need to recognize that, that it's still going to be a beautiful place. And one nice thing about being on the wet side, like we are: Things are going to start to recover much quicker than they would in a drier forest area."

Fire officials took a scrum of reporters and photographers to survey Multnomah Falls, where crews saved the 1925 lodge from the fire in an effort Gov. Kate Brown called "heroic" while standing at the scene.

"The folks who've been on the ground since the fire started have just done an amazing job, and our hearts of course go out to the families and the communities impacted by the fire," she said.

Low-slung smoke obscured views of the Columbia River during the trip east from Troutdale on a closed stretch of Interstate 84. Small pockets of flames could be seen west of the falls, where the tour ended.

It's clear that the gorge has retained its splendor despite the wildfire that has prompted a state of emergency declaration and rapid firefighting response. But signs of the damage are visible.

Oregon Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kimberly Dinwiddie said she saw scorched underbrush and trees, blackened ground cover and some trees still aflame towering over closed sections of the interstate and the Historic Columbia River Highway during a drive Wednesday morning between Troutdale and Cascade Locks.

Other areas along the roadways were untouched, she said. But much of the fire is burning in wilderness areas away from the interstate.

I-84 will remain closed until further notice, Dinwiddie said.

"There's still a lot of work that needs to be done even after the fire is contained to ensure that the highway is safe to open for travelers," she said.

Crews are also working to keep the neighboring historic highway clear so firefighters can do their jobs, she said.

The winding cliff-face road is in "pretty bad" shape, she said, and is also closed until further notice.

"We definitely see the historic highway being closed longer than Interstate 84," Dinwiddie said. "We also see that because of the effects of the fire, there's a good possibility that due to slides and trees that could continue to come down in the winter ... that we could see a lot of closures happening on the historic highway over the winter."

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015