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The North Point Amphitheater at the end of the “Turnaround Parking Lot” at Smith Rock State Park is the “Phoenix” that rose from the ashes of the devastating “Big Flame” fire that raged through the park over 20 years ago. Today, a plaque on a rock wall by the fence above the rim by the amphitheater is the only mention of the fire that wiped out most of the vegetation for one-third of the park’s 600 acres.
Magical. Mystical. These are terms many visitors use to describe the unique rock formations of Smith Rock State Park and the sense of awe they inspire. They are also the words Wilson Wewa, a spiritual leader and oral historian of the Pauite Tribe of the Warm Springs Reservation, used when asked what to describe the area. As the last enrolled speaker of the Pauite language in Warm Springs, he alone can still sing the ancient songs of his people at funerals and Washut ceremonies.
