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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2021)
INSIDE THE SURPRISINGLY SHORT HISTORY OF A FAVORITE FISHING FLY | July 17, 2021 State may buy land near Minam $18.7M acquisition would be done in two phases WEEKEND EDITION ‘All hands on deck’ Elbow Creek Fire in northwest Wallowa County explodes to 9,000 acres By RONALD BOND, BILL BRADSHAW and DICK MASON Wallowa County Chieftain EO Media Group MINAM — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is taking the next steps toward purchasing a large parcel of land south of Minam. During a virtual meeting Tuesday, July 13, ODFW shared an update and sought public feedback on its eff ort to purchase more than 15,000 acres, an $18.7 million acquisition that would be done in two phases — one in 2021 and the other in 2023. Work toward the pur- chase has been a partner- ship among ODFW, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foun- dation and Hancock Land Management, which cur- rently manages the land. “Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has been working on this project for over three years now on the current eff ort,” said Bill Richardson, RMEF senior conservation manager. “It’s taken a lot of twists and turns, but it feels like we’re in a good place. “We’ve really focused on access the last decade or so. This project hits every highlight, every national priority we have.” WALLOWA COUNTY — The Elbow Creek Fire, which started Thursday, July 15, has quickly grown to an estimated 9,000 acres, causing the evacu- ation of residents in the north- west end of Wallowa County, including the town of Troy and those living on Eden Bench. The fi re, which U.S. Forest Service offi cials said was fi rst reported at 2:32 p.m. July 15, started just downstream from the confl uence of Elbow Creek and the Grande Ronde River, according to David Weaver with the Oregon Department of For- estry. He said the cause of the fi re is under investigation. It quickly took off , burning along both sides of the Grande Ronde River toward Troy, Weaver said. By 6 p.m. July 15, it was estimated to be 700 to 1,000 acres, and Weaver esti- mated a couple hours later it had grown to more than 2,500 acres. According to the USFS, it is burning in grass and timber, and the continuous hot and dry con- ditions are contributing to the growth of the blaze. The fi re is also burning in tough terrain. “You have a very steep, deep, river canyon with very dead fi ne grass on one side ... and on the other side you have timber,” Weaver explained. By the evening, it had moved to within about 5 miles of both Troy and Promise. Weaver said July 16 it has moved closer to Promise, currently burning to the northwest of the tiny town. It’s burning southwest of Troy. The fi re, Weaver said, spread down river along the Grande Ronde and has been working its way up the slope on both sides of the canyon. From its initial starting point, the fi re burned toward Elbow Creek and Grossman Creek to the west, and toward Wildcat Creek to the east. It is making its All but a tiny portion of the 15,573 acres of land being considered is in Wal- lowa County. At its north- ernmost point is the con- fl uence of the Minam and Wallowa rivers. On its western edge, the border runs south near the Minam River — almost exactly on a line with the Wal- lowa/Union county border — for roughly 10 miles. It turns east along the county border line and continues about 5 miles along the northern border of the Wal- lowa-Whitman National Forest, then jags its way back along Deer Creek toward the Minam/Wal- lowa confl uence. A small See, Minam/Page A5 $1.50 NORTHEAST OREGON FIRES By RONALD BOND What’s being purchased OUTDOORS & REC, B1 Umatilla National Forest/Contributed Photo Smoke rises from the Elbow Creek Fire, west of Troy. The fi re was reported Thursday, July 15, and is burning in grass and timber. On July 16, the fi re had quickly grown to an estimated 9,000 acres. way south toward Sickfoot Road, and to the north it is spreading toward Cabin Creek. On both the north and south sides, Weaver said, crews are in place to conduct structure protection. He said the situation is “all hands on deck. We got every- body we can possibly gather.” That includes fi refi ghters from the Forest Service, from Joseph, Wallowa and Enterprise fi re departments, ODF fi ghters from Wallowa, La Grande, Baker and Pendleton, and even local landowners. The USFS said the afternoon of July 16 that a Type 3 North- east Oregon Interagency Man- agement Team is now staffi ng the fi re. The Type 3 team likely will transition to a Type 1 team Sat- urday, July 17. A helibase is being estab- lished in Flora. Fire camp is being set up in Wallowa, with a spike camp in Promise. Evacuation notices issued by sheriff ’s offi ce Level 3 “Get Out” evacua- tion notices were initially given by the Wallowa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce for Eden Bench, then for Troy, and now include Wildcat See, Fires/Page A5 Local crews on the front lines Union County fire resources help battle wildfires across the region By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — It’s fi re season, which means fi refi ghters and crews from across the Pacifi c Northwest are doing their part to limit the damage. The La Grande and Union Interagency hotshot crews recently helped with two wild- fi res in the Umatilla National Forest. The Union crew fought fi res at the Green Ridge Fire and the La Grande crew assisted at the Lick Creek Fire, which was formerly referred to as the Dry Gulch Fire. Both crews served 14-day assignments in South- eastern Washington and returned for a two-day rest on Thursday, July 14, before being assigned back to the fi eld. “The primary purpose of the hotshot crews is to provide sup- port for larger incidents, rather than an initial attack resource,” said Acacia Probert, public aff airs specialist for the Wal- lowa-Whitman National Forest. Lick Creek Fire The hotshot crews are national resources that operate through the Wallowa-Whitman INDEX Classified ...............B2 Comics ....................B5 Crossword .............B3 Dear Abby .............B6 See, Crews/Page A5 WEATHER Horoscope .............B4 Lottery ....................A2 Obituaries ..............A3 Opinion ..................A4 TUESDAY Outdoors & Rec ...B1 Records ..................A3 Region ....................A6 Sudoku ...................B5 Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune After lighting a fi re line to burn fuel for the Lick Creek Fire, a crew of wildland fi refi ghters begin to put out the fl ames, Monday, July 12, 2021, south of Asotin, Washington. Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Sunday 59 LOW 96/60 Clear Hazy sun and warm PAVING WORK PROGRESSING ON I-84 CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 83 2 sections, 12 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Online at lagrandeobserver.com
