WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Failed emergency alerts raise questions for future
Whitney Woodworth
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Just after midnight on Sept. 8, Jaime Baker was
roused from her sleep — not by the wildfire raging
through the Santiam Canyon toward her home in Mill
City or a cell phone alert telling her to evacuate — but
by strangers talking outside.
She heard a commotion, discovered the power was
out and went out to see why people were yelling in the
street.
Outside, the sky blazed a bright orange, the wind
whipped around her and trees crashed down.
"What got me what how bright orange the sky was,"
she said. "It was like daytime."
A Level 3 "go now" evacuation notice had been is-
sued at about midnight for much of the Santiam Can-
yon, including Mill City, Gates, Detroit and the North
Fork corridor.
Baker had no idea. She never received a phone call
or alert. No one knocked on her door, and she didn't
hear the town's emergency siren blare.
She decided on her own that it was time to leave.
Other residents found themselves in the same situ-
ation that night, leaving many to wonder what went
wrong with the state and local emergency alert sys-
tems they thought would protect them during a disas-
ter.
Weeks later, there are still more questions than an-
swers about why evacuation orders weren't issued
sooner, why emergency plans didn't account for power
and internet outages, why cell phones didn't wake res-
idents in the night with blaring alerts, and how the
system will be improved before there's another disas-
ter in the state.
See NOTICES, Page 3A
Kraig Arndt of Mill City takes photos Sept. 9 of a
friend’s home that burned to the ground during the
Santiam Fire in Mill City.
ABIGAIL DOLLINS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Great-grandma
celebrates 85th with
rock wall climb
Capi Lynn
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The Detroit Dam was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette Valley and began
operating in 1953. DAVID DAVIS AND KELLY JORDAN / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Timber town now a
‘war zone’ after fire
Detroit grapples with immense
loss after historic wildfires
Adrienne Roberts
Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
Steve Galbraith always dreamed of owning a home
in Detroit.
Born and raised there, he moved away a handful of
times, a few years each stint. He always knew he’d be
back. His ties to Detroit run deep — his father moved
to the city for a job in the forest service. Galbraith
eventually got a job there, too.
“He liked to cut trees,” said Galbraith, 58, laughing.
Following his father’s lead, Galbraith bought his own
piece of land when he was just 29, and lived on the
property since. Eventually, he saved enough money to
build his dream house, and moved into it in 2012.
Galbraith took pride in his house. He called it the
museum of Detroit, filled with items passed along
through generations. It was tucked away in the
woods.
“I was just starting to really enjoy it,” he said.
When he wasn’t working, he’d take his 1940 mil-
itary-green Chevy pickup, what he calls the “Green
Machine,” out for a cruise into town, picking up who-
ever wanted to come along for a ride.
Now, the truck is one of the only possessions he
See DETROIT, Page 4A
The view of a caravan of evacuees from the vehicle
of Travis and Jane James as they evacuated the
Beachie Creek fire from Detroit, Oregon in the early
morning hours of September 8, 2020. They were
among a group of 78 people who had gathered at
the Mongold boat ramp to escape the intense fire.
Firefighters moved the trucks around the people and
the water to try to keep them safe because roads
were impassable due to the fire. Fire crews managed
to clear a road long enough to get the group out.
They had to drive north out of the area and through
the intensifying fire to safety. JANE JAMES
Wildfires could impact water quality for a decade
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The electronics in the building melted, the filtering
system collapsed and the water storage was rendered
useless.
As the Lionshead Fire ripped through Detroit Sept.
7, it not only destroyed about 250 homes and busi-
nesses, it destroyed one of the most vital pieces of it or
any city – the water treatment plant.
For residents to return to their houses, buildings to
be rebuilt, surviving businesses to be reopened and
future fires to be fought, Detroit will have to do some-
thing about providing water to people again.
“I’m one of those fortunate standing in a row of nine
homes up there on Clester, but there is no water,” said
Detroit resident and Marion County Commissioner
Kevin Cameron. “If I’m even allowed to go back, this is
DEQ stuff we got to talk about.”
Detroit is surrounded by Detroit Lake and draws its
water from Breitenbush Creek, but all that water
doesn’t do much good if it can’t get to homes and busi-
nesses.
New water filtration systems installed in Gates and
Idanha in the past few years cost over $1 million, and
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Still learning new things
Johnson reached her goal despite a few snags, in-
cluding not being able to access the wall for nearly
three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then her party nearly had to be canceled when the
Kroc Center closed for a few days because of hazard-
ous air quality from the wildfires.
"With all that's going on and all the people who
have such devastating things happen, I think my
birthday is sounding kind of unimportant," she told
the Statesman Journal.
Others might argue an inspirational, feel-good sto-
ry like hers is exactly what we all need.
Even before hundreds of families lost their homes
in the Beachie Creek Fire, though, she was apprehen-
sive about publicly sharing her climbing quest.
"I just don't want anyone to think I'm showing off,"
Johnson said.
She should be proud, shouting it from the peak of
the 33-foot-tall wall.
Johnson credits her supporting cast for making it
possible, including friend Sally Newkirk, who gave
her a ride to lessons because she doesn't drive, and
instructor Tim Carr, who gave her the tools and confi-
dence to reach the top.
They've both followed her journey in awe.
"She's one of those people if she's got her mind set
on it, she's going to work until she drops," Newkirk
said. "I don't think she's ever been discouraged."
Carr said there were times he became the student.
"She's taught me a few things, how you can grow
older and still enjoy life and try new things," he said.
"You hear how people who are growing older start to
do less and think less is possible, but her whole atti-
tude is 'Well, now what else can I do.' "
'I want to do that'
Johnson, who's lived in Salem since she was 7,
wanted to improve her health. She has kyphosis, a
curvature of the spine that results in an abnormal
rounding of the upper back. It's often caused by oste-
oporosis in older women. Her mother had it.
She originally joined the Kroc Center to swim. But
the first time she and Newkirk walked into the lobby,
Johnson was lured by the rock wall.
"I thought, 'I want to do that,' " she said. "I wasn't
sure they would let me because of my age, but they've
just been as good as you can possibly be to make it
See CLIMBER, Page 2A
See WATER, Page 2A
Vol. 139, No. 41
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
Mary Ann Johnson is an "American Ninja Warrior"
fan, riveted by the TV series featuring a race through
daunting obstacle courses.
She's noticed a common theme among competi-
tors.
"All the ones that are really, really good — or a lot of
them anyway — have been climbing rock walls,"
Johnson said. "The thing is, I can hardly climb a lad-
der."
The 85-year-old great-grandmother may not be
ready for a ninja audition, but she can now do both.
She surprised family and friends at her Sept. 16
birthday party by climbing to the top of the indoor
rock wall at the Kroc Center in Salem.
A few were in on her secret. She'd been getting pri-
vate lessons for months.
Serving the Silverton
Area Since 1880
A Unique Edition of
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Mary Ann Johnson, 84, practices climbing the rock
wall with her trainer Tim Carr on Aug. 25 at the Kroc
Center in Salem. Johnson, who recently turned 85
years old, made it her goal to climb the wall for her
birthday. ABIGAIL DOLLINS/STATESMAN JOURNAL