SEPTEMBER 29, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
KFD,
continued from Page A1
Punchbowl Falls and then spreading
20,000 acres, and went right to work
protecting the Bonneville Dam and nearby
fi sh hatcheries.
“We were in the heart of it, right in
the thick of it. We were fi ghting fi re,” said
Perkins, who was at his fi rst confl agration.
“There's so much fi re that you have
to choose your battles. There's no way
that we can completely extinguish this.
We're basically just trying to keep it
from continuing to run and minimize it's
spread.”
Coburn drove the Keizer engine, which
was outfi tted to fi ght wildland fi res with
different hoses, fi ttings, attack methods
and water volumes. Throne and Perkins
deployed the hoses while Cummings
directed the crew.
As a hiker, surfer, kite boarder and
photographer, Perkins had spent a lot of
time in the Columbia Gorge.
“I love Eagle Creek,” Perkins said.
“I've done that hike a handful of times.
It's absolutely gorgeous and I've done a
number of hikes up in that area. I was up
there when it froze this winter so I saw
it completely frozen with ice, Multnomah
Falls all iced up. I love taking pictures of
that stuff. That was surreal to see it in that
state and then see it burnt up.”
Keizer was originally assigned to the
night crew but as winds spread the fi re east,
line. They didn't need to do that and they
did it consistently,” Perkins said. “People
wanted to help in anyway that they can. We
certainly felt the gratitude and respect of
the community. We were there to protect
people's homes and they saw that presence
and it gave them a sense of security.”
Cummings, who grew up in California
and worked for the Oregon Department
of Forestry for three seasons, said what
made the Eagle Creek fi re unique was
its proximity to a big city, Portland, and
historical landmarks like Multnomah Falls.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal kept the
crew prepared.
“It's never a guessing game,” Cummings
said. “They're so organized with their
tactics and strategies. They always have
exactly what they want you to do and it's
always laid out. They were pretty good at
predicting it (fi re) and knowing what it
was going to do and where it was going
to go and what ridges it was going to run.”
Keizer fi refi ghter Matt Dryden joined
Cummings on the Chetco Bar fi re.
“When they started moving evacuation
levels closer to Brookings, they needed
more resources, that's why they called for
another structural task force,” Cummings
said. “We were full structure protection.”
That included clearing debris and
ignitable items away from homes and
setting up sprinkler systems provided by
the fi re marshal.
After 15 years, Keizer Fire was able
to get back on the confl agration list
thanks to an increase in staff, training and
equipment.
Cummings, Perkins, Coburn and Thorne
stayed on for an additional long day shift.
The crew didn't get back to camp in
Odell until Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m.
“I really enjoy it,” Cummings said. “I'm
young so I'm all about it. I don't have
kids. I don't have too many priorities back
home. I grew up doing it. It does get tiring.
I was covered in poison oak from the
Chetco (fi re) so after a while your body
starts taking a toll. It doesn't matter how
young you are. You just start getting tired.”
Along with protecting the dam, the
Keizer crew spent that fi rst 28-hour shift
keeping the fi re from jumping over to
the westbound side of Interstate 84 and
checking on homes in the area to make
sure there weren't any spot fi res.
“That fi rst 36 hours is something that I'll
never forget,” Perkins said. “You're seeing
trees that are 80 feet tall with a fl ame that's
80 feet above them.”
The crew spent the maximum two
weeks working on the Eagle Creek fi re,
returning to Keizer on Sunday, Sept. 17.
Each morning began with a 5:15 wakeup
call. The crew typically returned to camp
between 8-8:30 p.m.
Some of their other duties included
putting out spot fi res along I-84, prepping
and talking to people about the fi re in the
houses nearby, assisting Hood River with
a grass fi re and watching the Multnomah
Falls Lodge.
The citizens of Cascade Locks showed
appreciation towards the fi refi ghters,
making them meals.
“They would come out to the fi re
LAW,
continued from Page A1
driving course.
House Bill 2597’s man-
dates are only one component
in Oregon’s efforts to reduce
distracted driving; ODOT’s
DriveHealthy campaign hopes
to incentivize drivers to prac-
tice safe habits with friendly
competition. The campaign lets
organizations and individuals
use the LifeSaver app from Life
Apps LLC to log cellphone use
while driving and send scores
to ODOT’s monthly leader-
board. Playing is easy: the less
you use your phone while driv-
ing, the higher your score.
ODOT is confi dent in the
campaign, as a similar one in
Boston reduced distracted driv-
ing among participants by 47
percent.
“While technology helped
create the problem,” said
ODOT Director Matthew
Garrett. “Technology can also
help provide a solution to dis-
tracted driving.”
mobile devices while parked,
but the bill asserts that it is not
legal to use the device while at
a stop light or stop sign.
According to the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion (ODOT), there were 917
crashes, 14 fatalities, and over
1,000 injuries caused by drivers
using a cellphone from 2011-
2015. Second offenders, or fi rst
offenders who contribute to a
crash, can fi nd themselves pay-
ing up to $2,500 in fi nes, and
third offenders can be faced
with up to $6,500 in fi nes or a
year in jail.
The bill isn’t just increased
fi nes and strict enforcement,
however. Starting January 1,
2018, the bill will allow courts
to offer fi rst-time offenders the
option to suspend their fi ne
and instead take a distracted
Churph hosts Superhero party
freshments. Wonder Woman
and Superman also expected to
visit the shindig.
The event is slated for 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. at the covered
shelter in Claggett Creek Park,
1400 Dearborn Avenue N.E.
Jesus Our Jubilee Church is
hosting a Superhero Celebra-
tion for kids on Saturday, Sept.
30.
Families and children are
welcome at the free event with
games prizes, hot dogs and re-
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