Wednesday, August 23, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
The tribulations of evacuation
By Jim Cornelius
Correspondent
The Milli fire burning
west of Sisters reared up like
an angry dragon and roared
forth in flame and billowing
smoke on Wednesday, August
16, exploding from 150 acres
to over 3,000 in an afternoon.
Neighborhoods in the fire’s
shadow were put on notice to
be alert to the danger looming
on the horizon.
The next day, that alert went
to Level 2 in the Crossroads
and Edgington Road areas
— be ready to leave at a
moment’s notice. And on
Friday, with the fire continu-
ing to roar and roll through
the forest, the order came
down to evacuate those neigh-
borhoods. Soon, areas along
Forest Road 16 were included
in the evacuation, send-
ing hundreds of Sisters-area
residents out of their homes.
Deschutes County
Emergency Services Manager
Sgt. Nathan Garibay told The
Nugget that the decision to
order evacuations is made in
consultation among multiple
agencies — the Deschutes
County Sheriff’s Office, the
team fighting the wildfire,
local fire district officials and
others — and it’s based on a
variety of criteria.
“It’s a dynamic decision,”
he said.
Criteria include the
resources available to hold
containment lines and to con-
duct an evacuation, and how
the ingress and egress to a
neighborhood might effect
traffic. Above all, there is
the question of potential fire
behavior. Even if a fire is
not moving directly toward a
neighborhood, fire managers
have to bear in mind that the
wind can shift. When a fire
is big and angry, the situation
can change in a hurry, and
nobody wants to deal with an
evacuation under pressure.
“People hurriedly try-
ing to leave in a smoke-filed
environment can certainly be
an unsafe situation,” Garibay
said.
The sergeant said that all
the decision-makers are aware
that evacuations cause signifi-
cant disruptions in peoples’
lives, but “at the end of the
day, public safety trumps
everything else.”
When neighborhoods are
evacuated, structural protec-
tion units move in. They patrol
neighborhoods looking for
spot fires and work to improve
the defensibility of homes.
They also scout out their safe
19
VOLUNTEERS: Funds
will go toward bike
park project
Continued from page 3
PHOTO BY JEFF PRICHER, DIVISION CHIEF
A member of the Columbia County Task Force, engaged in one of the more
prosaic duties of firefighters who provided structure protection coverage
for evacuated neighborhoods of Sisters.
zones and emergency egress
points. Garibay noted that
sheriff’s deputies also patrol
the deserted neighborhoods.
Seven structural fire protec-
tion task forces were assem-
bled from across the state
under the Conflagration Act.
“We are really fortu-
nate that we were able to get
the structure protection in,”
Garibay said. “That really
increased the margin of safety
for the Sisters community.”
The decision to lift an
evacuation and allow resi-
dents back in to their homes
is a complicated one, Garibay
said. The last thing authorities
want is to lift an evacuation
and then have to re-impose it.
“That’s always a tough
one,” he said. “We’re not
going to lift evacuations until
there’s confidence that it’s
absolutely safe. It changes
every day and it’s always
based on current expected fire
behavior.”
As of press time, the mul-
tiple agencies involved in the
decision were planning to
meet on Monday to evaluate
the situation.
Garibay said that “people
have been very understand-
ing and we really appreci-
ate the patience and under-
standing Sisters has shown.
It’s just another example of
what makes Sisters a great
community.”
Tom Lyons of Blazin
Saddles bicycle shop in
Sisters is heavily involved
in the project. He said that
organizers have met with
contractors and selected dirt;
they will soon take deliv-
ery of 1,000 yards of dirt to
begin construction on new
features.
“We’ll have some decent-
sized dirt jumps out there,
too,” he said. “Something
for everybody is what we’re
shooting for.”
Work on the project will
be underway this fall and in
the spring of 2018.
To volunteer for the
September 16 event, email
info@sisterstrails.org.
NuggetNews.com
is your online source for
BREAKING
NEWS
Classifieds
Weather
Road Reports
Quilt Drawing
for
FURRY FRIEND S
501 ( c )( 3 )
FOUNDATION
100% of the proceeds go to Furry Friends Foundation.
“Pets Just Wanna Have Fun” quilt was
designed, appliqued, and quilted by
Valerie Fercho-Tillery. The original design and
incredible detail make this a spectacular quilt!
The quilt is currently on display at
The Nugget offi ce, 442 E. Main Ave.
Bring your pup by for a dog cookie and have a look!
Tickets may be purchased at The Nugget offi ce
or online at our website
www.furryfriendsfoundation.org.
Tickets are $1 each, six for $5 or
go for it, 25 for $20.
Info: 541-549-9941
“Pets Just Wanna Have Fun” - by Valerie Fercho-Tillery (45.5"w x 57.5"h)