14
Wednesday, August 11, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
WELLS: Concern
is for hay crop in
Sisters Country
Alert construction crew helps battle fire
By Sue Stafford
Continued from page 1
to five months with a cost
of $3,000 to $10,000. Cost
is not determined by depth
nor by having to drill deeper
as a result of the drought.
It9s determined by what the
driller has to drill through to
reach the 320-foot-deep (on
average) water table.
While the depth to reach
water has grown five to six
feet this summer, this is
not a reason to panic, drill-
ers tell The Nugget. Abbas
Drilling in Terrebonne say
that conservation is the key
to managing growers9 water,
so much of which is wasted
to seepage and evaporation.
Some 90 percent of
the streamflow from the
Deschutes River is diverted
through irrigation canals
during the growing sea-
son between April through
October.
<The diversions cause
a dramatic reduction of
streamflow 4 more than
1,500 cubic feet per sec-
ond (cfs) in the Middle
Deschutes, the stretch
between Bend and Lake
Billy Chinook,= according
to the Deschutes County
watermaster in Bend.
The porous, volcanic soil
characteristics of our high
desert terrain allow nearly
half of the water diverted
from the river to canals to
seep into the ground before
it reaches the farm.
<As a result, irrigation
districts need to divert twice
the amount of water as they
need to serve their patrons
4 an extremely inefficient
and antiquated system,=
claims the Deschutes River
Conservancy.
The Three Sisters
Irrigation District canals
have been piped at consider-
able effort over several years
to prevent loss.
There are eight irrigation
districts serving customers
from the Deschutes River.
<Low streamflow
leads to habitat degrada-
tion, water quality prob-
lems, and unhealthy habitat
for fish and wildlife,= the
Conservancy states.
The City of Sisters is in
no danger of running out of
water anytime soon. While
that is reassuring, every
drop saved is worth consid-
ering. In the broader Sisters
Country water is not taken
for granted. Pump servicers
remind well owners to be
alert for failure, especially
since many wells in the area
are at least 40 years old.
The long-term forecast
remains very hot and very
dry.
Correspondent
Employees of Crestline
Construction who were check-
ing equipment on Sunday,
July 11, at Rimrock Ranch on
Wilt Road were in the right
place at the right time.
While making sure the
heavy equipment would be
ready to go Monday morning
at 5 a.m., the men noticed the
early plume of smoke from
what became the Grandview
Fire, which eventually burned
6,032 acres, coming frighten-
ingly close to Gayle Baker9s
Rimrock Ranch, a Deschutes
Land Trust (DLT) property
(see related story, page 3).
After alerting authorities,
the crew brought all the heavy
equipment up the hill from the
area next to Whychus Creek
where they are doing habitat
restoration work, cleared an
area of vegetation near the
ranch entrance, and parked
the equipment. During that
week, the spot became a stag-
ing area for firefighting equip-
ment used on the Grandview
Fire. For one week, work was
stopped on the creek project
and Crestline stayed on site,
ready and willing to help.
They put in a dozer road to
help fight the fire, and their
water truck provided water for
some of the pumper trucks.
Nick Jacob, project manager
for Crestline, which is head-
quartered in The Dalles, and
two of his employees manned
their water truck and two
bulldozers.
Evident today is how close
the fire came to engulfing the
ranch. Driving in the drive-
way, one can see all the burned
trees on the ridge across the
pasture as well as the large
red swath of fire retardant
dropped by a tanker plane
on the edge of the pasture.
The main job for Crestline,
according to Jacob, was <to
keep Gayle safe and protect
the property.=
Jacob explained that on
any jobsite where they are
working, the potential for fire
is always there. That is why
they start work in the cool
of day at 5 a.m. and quit at 1
p.m. Several of the crew must
stay on site for three hours
after work stops, to watch for
any ignition.
D e s c h u t e s Wa t e r s h e d
Council Executive Director
Kris Knight said he was told
by the fire crew that <there
was a lot of concern about the
Grandview Fire, especially
because it started running
fast.= He gave special credit to
the Prineville Bureau of Land
Management engine 612 crew,
saying, <They were a great
group of guys who did an amaz-
ing job of cutting fire line.=
Baker indicated that on the
www.NuggetNews.com
Sunday evening when the fire
strarted, fire personnel came
right into the barn where she
lives upstairs and told her,
<Get out now!=
On Monday, July 26
Deschutes Land Trust hosted
a picnic lunch at the ranch as
a thank-you to all the people
involved in containing the
fire. Crestline received a cer-
tificate of appreciation from
DLT Executive Director Rika
Ayotte for their willingness
to offer their crew and equip-
ment to help fight the fire.
Sisters District Ranger Ian
Reid and members of the fire
crews were unable to attend
the lunch as they had already
been assigned to new fires.
PHOTO COURTESY DESCHUTES LAND TRUST
Deschutes Land Trust Executive Director Rika Ayotte presented a
certificate of appreciation to Nick Jacob of Crestline Construction for
their help with protecting Rimrock Ranch from the Grandview Fire. Kris
Knight, executive director of Deschutes Watershed Council, looks on.
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