FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local
Sumpter rallies to help local
family after motor home fi e
BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Local citizens from the
Sumpter area rallied last
week to supply the needs
of those displaced by a fire
up Cracker Creek Road.
The fire started within a
motor home, home to three
campers and their dogs.
Crews from the
Sumpter Volunteer Fire
Department and Powder
River Rural Fire Depart-
ment were unable to save
the vehicle, which was the
permanent residence of
the campers, but worked
quickly to keep the fire
from spreading. All the
campers’ belongings were
lost.
Kurt Clarke, Fire Chief
for Sumpter, said this was
a mutual aid call with
crews from the Sumpter
and Powder River Depart-
ments working coopera-
tively at the scene.
John Young of Sumpter
said, “It was mostly smoke
when we got there, and
we got it knocked down
and made sure it didn’t
spread.”
Clarke said the Fire
Departments continued to
work together to provide
shelter and supplies for the
campers, a group of three
women with the oldest
member in her 70s.
Young said Myrna
Clarke and Dave Stellman
of Sumpter and Kathy
Vincent of Powder River
deserve the credit for figu -
ing out what the campers
needed and mobilizing
supplies.
City of
Unity
under boil
notice
• E.COLI CONTAMINATES WATER SUPPLY
Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press
Local citizens in Sumpter donated time and equipment to assist those displaced
by a motor home fire up Cracker Creek Road
Clarke and Stellman
also traveled to Baker City
to get the campers to Red
Cross and help get medica-
tions straightened out.
Fire Chief Clarke said
the tone sounded about
6:30 and by 9:00, tents
were set up and food and
supplies, including dog
food for the 7-9 dogs living
with the campers, had been
provided.
Lynne Applegate, Sumpt-
er Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment Auxiliary member,
reported a whole caravan
of vehicles went out to
the campsite, bringing
blankets, food, clothing,
sleeping bags, dog food,
and cash to meet immedi-
ate needs. A stove was
also donated.
Clarke said members
of the Fire Department
are still working with Red
Cross and the campers to
find them shelte . Volun-
teers have provided rides
to doctor appointments and
helped connect the women
with local food banks.
Sumpter and Powder
River Fire Departments
also had members coming
off the Cornet Fire.
Applegate said her
husband Gary had spent all
one night at Stices Gulch
helping out. And, in a fur-
ther show of cooperation
and community spirit, Neal
Bork, resident of Sumpter,
has donated use of a cat to
both Fire Departments for
the remainder of the fire
season.
Young said the mutual
agreement between the
Fire Departments worked
great and shows how much
Sumpter’s Fire Department
has improved the last few
years.
Applegate said, “I do
not live in the town but to
see so many folks rush to
help total strangers in need
blessed my socks off. Our
fire departments should be
applauded.”
Residents within the City of Unity will remain on a
boil water notice until water samples return negative for
E.coli. It is unknown at this time where the contamination
may have taken place.
Under the guidance of the State’s Drinking Water
Program, Mayor Bennett and local health officials treated
the City’s water tank Thursday evening with the hopes of
flushing and testing the water by the following Monda .
Current fire conditions surrounding the area have delayed
that process.
Officials hoped to be able to flush the water system b
last Tuesday afternoon and pull samples to be tested by
the certified lab in Pendleton by Wednesday. Test results
are expected soon.
E. coli is a type of fecal coliform bacteria commonly
found in the intestines of animals and humans. E. coli
is short for Escherichia coli. The presence of E. coli in
water is a strong indication of recent sewage or animal
waste contamination. Sewage may contain many types of
disease-causing organisms.
Fecal coliforms are bacteria that are associated with
human or animal wastes. They usually live in human or
animal intestinal tracts, and their presence in drinking
water is a strong indication of recent sewage or animal
waste contamination.
E. coli comes from human and animal wastes. During
rainfalls, snow melts, or other types of precipitation, E.
coli may be washed into creeks, rivers, streams, lakes, or
ground water. When these waters are used as sources of
drinking water and the water is not treated or inadequate-
ly treated, E. coli may end up in drinking water.
E. coli O157:H7 is one of hundreds of strains of the
bacterium E. coli. Although most strains are harmless and
live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals, this
strain produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe
illness.
Infection often causes severe bloody diarrhea and
abdominal cramps; sometimes the infection causes non-
bloody diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within two to
four days, but can take up to eight days.
Wildfires burn Baker County
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
While Baker County
continues to experience
three major active fires,
it is the Canyon Fire near
John Day that has taken
center stage. Of the 105
wildfires burning in the
U.S., the Canyon Fire
has reached the status as
priority number one in
the nation for firefightin
resources. 36 homes have
been lost to the fire
Fire fighting resources
from Oregon Department
of Forestry, United States
Forest Service, and Bureau
of Land Management,
and utility crews have
been spread thin by the
widespread fire situation
throughout eastern Oregon.
Locally, the needs for ad-
ditional resources has been
filled in Baker County by
nothing short of a heroic
effort from county and
municipal personnel, and
from private citizens.
The three main fires in
Baker County are listed
as the Eagle Complex,
the Eldorado, and the
Cornet/Windy Ridge. The
August 18 fire report was
released just as a new fire
sparked near Huntington,
Oregon. Jason Yencopal,
Baker County Emergency
Services Manager reports
on August 19, that an ag-
gressive firefighting fort
contained it to within 108
acres with one threatened
structure saved.
Cornet/Windy Ridge.
The Cornet/Windy
Ridge Fire, located near
Hereford, Bridgeport and
just outside Baker City,
began as the result of light-
ning on August 10. The
Cornet Fire was first r -
ported as a 245-acre blaze
beginning in the southwest
Dooley Mountain area. By
the next day, the Cornet
Fire exploded into a 5,000-
acre fire and pushed by
high winds, hot tempera-
tures, and an overload of
tinder dry natural fuels,
burned together with the
Windy Ridge Fire some-
time around August 14. By
August 18, the combined
blazes had torched nearly
100,000-acres of brush,
grass, and timbered land.
As of August 18, there
were 18 crews totaling
677 fire fighters on site; 3
engines; 12 dozers; and,
one helicopters working to
contain 35-percent of the
fire. Structures lost to the
Cornet/Windy Ridge Fire
numbered eight by August
18.
“The weather has
shifted in our favor,” said
Ted Kunz, Cornet/Windy
Ridge Fire Incident Com-
mander Oregon State Fire
Marshal’s office during
an interview August, 16.
“We had a good day today
and hope for a good night
tonight. We’ve had a lot of
saves on houses but there
are still hot-spots. It’s a
wide area and remote.”
When asked about live-
stock and wildlife, Kunz
reported, “There have been
a few head of livestock lost
that we know of. Fewer
than 10. Early warnings
were issued to help get the
livestock out. There was
a herd of about 30 elk lost
on the Windy Ridge Fire.”
Since then, the reported
cattle loss has grown sig-
nificantl .
Kunz added that many
of the local residents had
pre-made fire plans that
minimized the loss of
livestock and listened to
evacuation orders as they
were issued. The state fire
marshal’s office coord -
nated command with the
USFS Southwest Incident
Management Team lead by
Incident Commander Mark
Ruggiero. Both incident
commanders led a public
information meeting at the
Nazarene Church attended
by hundreds of concerned
local residents.
On August 19, Steve
Berube from the Incident
Management Team showed
a fire control line around
the majority of the Cornet/
Windy Ridge Fire. There
were still several areas
within the Cornet/Windy
Ridge Fire that defy con-
tainment, including areas
on the northern and eastern
edges of the fire and an
area just west of Durkee.
Eldorado.
The Eldorado Fire began
on August 14 due to an
undetermined cause. By
August 18, it had burned
20,500-acres five miles
southeast of Unity. Seven
crews with a total 285 per-
sonnel were working the
fire with 14 engines; seven
dozers; five water tenders;
and, four helicopters.
Crews had the Eldorado
Fire 30-percent contained
by the morning of August
18.
On August 19, the
map of the Eldorado Fire
showed no fire control line
within the fire perimete .
Eagle Complex.
The Eagle Complex Fire
continues to burn in steep,
rugged terrain near the
main Eagle Creek and East
Eagle Creek roads. Crews
have been dispatched
to the area and a highly
skilled hand-crew has
been requested, said Gary
Timm, Baker County Fire
Manager. Timm voiced
concern for the potential
explosive growth of this
fire given the rugged te -
rain, and the natural fuel
loads that exist throughout
the Eagle Creek area.
“The number one
priority is firefighter an
public safety, followed by
protection of the cabins in
the area. We’re up against
it with the topography,
the fuel loading, and the
one-way in/one-way out
access,” said Timm of the
Eagle Complex blaze.
Electrical utility provid-
ers were also scrambling
to cover widespread needs
throughout the region.
Idaho Power Co., Inc., had
nine five-person crews di -
patched on the Soda Fire
in southwest Oregon as
that fire continued to race
across agricultural lands
of southwestern Oregon
leaving limited resources
to draw upon for the utility
fixes needed on the fire
burning in Baker County.
“There are 120 transmis-
sion poles down on the
Soda Fire,” said Byron
Dale, patrolman for Idaho
Power, August 16. “The
crews are exhausted and
have been out the last three
nights. The crews have
been strung out by the
Soda Fire.”
“We’re running out of
materials: power poles and
cross-arms,” Dale said.
While crews replaced
transmission poles burned
Brian Addison / The Baker County Press
Ted Kunze (right), Oregon State Fire Marshal’s
Office Incident Commander and Mark Ruggiero,
Incident Commander from the Southwest Incident
Management Team work together in joint command.
down by the Soda Fire,
The Eldorado Fire five
miles southeast of Unity,
Oregon burned down
19 two-pole structures.
Replacement materials
were expected to arrive on
August 17 or August 18,
according to Brent Lulloff,
Idaho Power Regional
Manager. Once the materi-
als have arrived, Lulloff
said there’d be six five
person crews dispatched
to make the pole repairs in
the Eldorado Fire area.
“Unity is served by
Idaho Power and the local
service is still active,” said
Lulloff on August 16.
While Idaho Power
dispatched enough crews
to deal with the downed
poles, local electric com-
pany Oregon Trail Elec-
tric Cooperative (OTEC)
worked to keep work-
ing the 138-kV electri-
cal power line between
the substation in Hines,
Oregon and John Day, ac-
cording to Lara Petticlerc-
Stokes, OTEC Manager
of Communications and
Government Affairs. The
line was threatened by the
massive Canyon Fire burn-
ing just south of John Day.
Late reports from OTEC
on August 18 indicate that
the line remains operable.
That fire is still active and
OTEC has obtained a 2.5
mega watt generator from
Seattle to keep electricity
at the hospital and emer-
gency services building in
case the town loses power.
The Cornet/Windy
Ridge fire took down ele -
tricity in the Bridgeport
area, and at about 4 p.m.,
August 14, to the Beaver
Mountain local access
television translator atop
Beaver Mountain knocking
out local access television
stations. OTEC reported
on August 19, that crews
have begun repair work to
restore television service,
including Boise channels.
The American Red
Cross remained on stand-
by status at the Nazarene
Church with volunteers
and two nurses ready to
assist those in need.
The Baker County Code
Red alert system helped to
inform citizens of evacu-
ation status, according to
Yencopal. Those with cell
phones may sign up for
the Red Code by visiting
www.911.org.