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TUESDAY EDITION
June 8, 2021
Wildfi re season starts early in Wallowa County
Two blazes burning
in remote canyon
country make it tough
on firefighters
Service was overseeing the coor-
dination of the Dry Creek Fire to
the southeast of Joseph Canyon.
A spring drought has resulted
in large, woody debris regis-
tering very low moisture, and live
fuels, such as brush and shrubs,
are extremely dry, adding ample
fuel to the fi re. According to Matt
Howard, ODF deputy admin-
istrator, high winds shut down
air operations June 5 when the
Joseph Canyon Fire jumped Cot-
tonwood Creek to the east and
Joseph Creek to the west.
Adding to dry conditions
Early morning lightning
storms Friday, June 4, started a
handful of fi res, two becoming
large enough to call in smoke-
jumpers and rappellers to access
the Joseph Canyon and Dry Creek
fi res, burning on private land and
the Nez Perce Tribe’s Precious
Lands.
The fi re reportedly ignited
on Bureau of Land Management
lands, but soon crossed over into
Washington state lands protected
by the Oregon Department of
Forestry.
Until June 6, the U.S. Forest
By KATY NESBITT
For The Observer
ENTERPRISE — Before
the state had the opportunity
to declare fi re season in North-
eastern Oregon, two fi res erupted
late last week in the remote can-
yons of Wallowa County.
Annual
livestock
show
gears up
and high winds, the terrain is
some of the most diffi cult in the
Northwest.
“In my opinion it is in one of
the toughest spots due to inacces-
sibility, steep terrain, remoteness
and rattlesnakes,” Howard said.
Although containment remains
at 0% percent, fi re spread was
limited to 300 acres, for a total of
4,000 acres at the end of June 6.
The fi res are being battled mostly
from the air, with crews on the
ground scouting, checking for
hot spots, burnout operations and
assisting pilots with water and
retardant drops.
As of June 7, the fi res transi-
tioned from two Type 3 overhead
teams to the Interagency Type 2
Northwest Team 7 led by Jason
Loomis.
Brian Anderson, a district
ranger for the Wallowa Moun-
tains Offi ce, greeted a group of
50 people assigned to the fi res at
the Wallowa County Fairgrounds’
Cloverleaf Hall June 6. As his
agency’s representative on the
fi res, he said the goal was a full
See, Wildfi re/Page 5A
LA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
A year to never forget
LHS seniors
graduate in person
following pandemic
school year
Full week set for
Eastern Oregon
Livestock Show
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
L
A GRANDE — As
La Grande High
School senior Camryn
Collman gave her vale-
dictorian speech in front of a
packed audience in the school’s
gymnasium, she noted the gath-
ering was the fi rst time the whole
class had congregated together
in more than a year, and it would
likely be the last.
This bittersweet sentiment
echoed throughout the com-
mencement ceremony of the La
Grande High School Class of
2021 Saturday, June 5.
Friends and families of the
143 graduates congregated to
celebrate and honor a graduating
class that endured the diffi cult
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
circumstances of the COVID-19
La Grande High graduates embrace Saturday, June 5, 2021, in front of the school following their commencement ceremony.
pandemic. Graduating seniors
were allowed up to fi ve tickets
for potential attendees so the
such as prom, attending football
dered activities during this
amplifi ed my gratitude for the
people around me,” Acireno said.
school could comply with state
games and school assemblies,
class’s senior year, the future
guidelines for indoor gatherings. many noted the resiliency of
possibilities are limitless for a
Close to home for La
“I think it’s important that in
this class during unprecedented
group of students who had to
moments like this, you pause and times.
learn how to adapt. Of the 143
Grande superintendent
think about what it took to get us
“There were many unex-
graduating seniors, 11 were hon-
More than 50 seniors received
to this point,” La Grande High
pected lessons learned during
ored as valedictorians for fi n-
some sort of scholarship for
School Principal Brett Baxter
this time in patience, self-disci-
ishing every semester with a 4.0
higher education following their
said.
pline and caring for the people
GPA during their four years at
graduation from high school.
The seniors spent most of the
around us in ways that we
La Grande High School.
“You’re probably more
year studying virtually, more
didn’t need to before,” said La
Alisha Acireno was one of the
ready than any graduates that
than 150 days, and returned to
Grande School Board Chair
valedictorians to speak, and she
have come before you,” said La
in-person learning well into the
Robin Maille in her speech to the even spoke briefl y in Japanese
academic year. While the pan-
graduates.
for her extended family in Japan.
See, LHS/Page 5A
demic did away with events
Although the pandemic hin-
“This school year has really
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION — The pulse of the
Eastern Oregon Livestock Show,
which was hard to detect a year
ago, will soon be off and racing.
The 114th EOLS is now kicking
off a year after it was canceled in
2020 because of the COVID-19
pandemic. Lower infection rates
are allowing the historic and pop-
ular event to move forward this
week.
”We are so lucky that it appears
Union County will be in the low-
risk category,” said Cassie Miller,
second vice president of the EOLS
Board.
The county’s risk level at the
time of the event determines the
percentage of allowed occupancy.
EOLS festivities begin at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 8, with the EOLS
queen coronation. The event, open
to the public, will be at the EOLS’s
clubhouse. The queen candidates
are La Grande’s Makenzie Polfer,
18, and North Powder’s Kachira
Phillips, 21. Polfer graduated from
La Grande High School on June 5
and plans to pursue a career in the
cattle industry after earning a col-
lege degree. Phillips is pursing a
career as a registered nurse.
Activities open to the public
continue on June 10, when the
EOLS carnival opens and the Ed
See, Show/Page 5A
Volunteers help clear
Mount Emily trail system
Annual MERA Trail
Work Day builds
connector between two
motorcycle trails
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
LA GRANDE — To Rick
Bowen, the Mount Emily Rec-
reation Area is more than just a
trail system — it’s his backyard.
Bowen fi rst began riding dirt
bikes in the area in 1968, 40
years before MERA was estab-
INDEX
lished in 2008.
“It’s sentimental. I grew up
out here, we just spent our child-
hood out here,” Bowen said. “I
retired three years ago, bought
a new motorcycle and I’ve just
been loving it.”
Bowen, who has already made
a dozen trips to the area this
spring alone, joined the Eastern
Oregon All Terrain Vehicle Asso-
ciation on Saturday, June 5, for
its annual Motorized Trail Work
Day, along with a handful of
See, Trail/Page 5A
WEATHER
Classifieds ..............3B
Home & Living .....1B
Opinion ..................4A
Comics ....................7B
Horoscope .............5B
Sports .....................7A
Crossword .............5B
Lottery ....................2A
Dear Abby .............8B
Obituaries ..............3A
THURSDAY
Carlos Fuentes/The Observer
Eastern Oregon All Terrain Vehicle Association members Kyle Bowen, left, and
Rick Bowen clear the path Saturday, June 5, 2021, for a new motorcycle connect-
ing trail at the Mount Emily Recreation Area near La Grande.
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Wednesday
Sudoku ...................7B
47 LOW
65/47
Weather .................8B
Mostly cloudy
Cloudy
MOTHER, DAUGHTER GRADUATING IN SAME YEAR
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 66
2 sections, 16 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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