2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017
Charges brought against teen in Columbia Gorge fi re
Boy was not
publicly named
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
A 15-year-old boy who
allegedly started a wildfi re by
tossing fi reworks along a hik-
ing trail in the scenic Colum-
bia River Gorge, with the blaze
causing evacuations, the clos-
ing of an interstate highway
and causing ash to rain down
on Portland, has been charged
with several offenses, authori-
ties said Thursday.
He’s charged with reck-
less burning, depositing burn-
ing materials on forest lands,
criminal mischief and reck-
lessly endangering other per-
sons, Hood River County Dis-
trict Attorney John Sewell said
in a statement. The boy, from
Vancouver, Washington, was
not named.
The fi re that started Sept.
2, and which continues to
smolder, burned 76 square
miles of forestland, devastat-
ing beloved day trails around
dozens of crystalline water-
falls in Portland’s backyard.
Inciweb
A teenager has been charged in the devastating Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia Gorge.
Witnesses had seen the boy,
who was with other youths,
tossing fi reworks off the trail.
A fi re quickly started, strand-
ing dozens of hikers who
had to retreat into a safe area
and wait out the night before
being evacuated the next day.
Flames leapt from the trees on
the gorge’s steep slopes, and
winds carried sparks across the
broad Columbia River, starting
another fi re on the Washington
state side.
Interstate 84, a major east-
west corridor that runs along
Backers of oil terminal pour
money into Vancouver port race
By PHUONG LE
Associated Press
Developers of a proposed
oil-by-rail terminal in Vancou-
ver, Washington, that would
be the largest in the nation
have poured big money into
a port commissioner race that
may shape the project’s future.
Backers of the Vancou-
ver Energy project have
given $370,000 in cash to
support Kris Greene, who
has expressed support for
the terminal proposed at the
Port of Vancouver, accord-
ing to fi lings with the Wash-
ington Public Disclosure
Commission.
That represents the bulk of
the cash he has raised in the
Vancouver port commission-
er’s race.
His opponent Don Orange
is against the proposed $210
million terminal that would
handle about 360,000 barrels
of crude oil a day. Orange
said he would work to end
the project’s lease at the port.
The terminal has been the
subject of heated debate in
the Northwest. Project devel-
opers see it as an opportunity
to link domestic crude oil
from the Midwest to a West
Coast port and bring jobs and
money to the region.
Critics say it poses too
great a risk to people and the
environment, and the dangers
extend well beyond the facil-
ity to include communities
along rail lines.
Tesoro Corp. and Savage
Cos., operating as Vancouver
Energy, have a 10-year lease at
the deep-water port about 100
river miles from the Pacifi c
Ocean. The proposed termi-
nal would receive an average
of four 1½-mile long crude
oil trains a day. Oil would be
stored on site then loaded onto
tankers and ships bound for
West Coast refi neries.
Vancouver Energy said it
supports Greene as the candi-
date with the right experience
SATURDAY
The Daily Astorian
to lead the port.
Company spokesman Jeff
Hymas wrote in an email
that Greene understands the
importance of creating jobs
and economic growth in the
region.
A state energy panel is
currently reviewing the proj-
ect. It will make a recom-
mendation to Gov. Jay Inslee,
who will have the fi nal say.
The lease between Van-
couver Energy and the port
allows for changes by either
party every 90 days, port
spokeswoman Abbi Russell
said.
People on both sides of
the issue see the port com-
missioner’s race as a way to
cement support or opposition
involving the project.
“This race is fundamen-
tally about the terminal,” said
Mark Stephan, a political sci-
ence professor at Washing-
ton State University Vancou-
ver. “There are a lot of people
watching.”
64
43
65
44
Very windy; downpours;
watch for flooding
A little a.m. rain, then a
shower or two
Intervals of clouds and
sunshine
Pleasant with plenty of
sunshine
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
43/61
Tillamook
46/62
Precipitation
Thursday .......................................... 1.18"
Month to date ................................... 3.88"
Normal month to date ....................... 3.01"
Year to date .................................... 57.09"
Normal year to date ........................ 43.25"
Salem
44/61
Newport
46/58
Oct 27
Full
Last
Nov 3
Coos Bay
48/60
New
Nov 10
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
8:54 a.m.
9:33 p.m.
Low
1.5 ft.
-0.4 ft.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Hi
79
69
77
79
76
73
87
21
86
76
76
79
76
79
88
79
83
72
78
74
78
62
65
54
76
Today
Lo
55
52
58
40
62
53
64
5
74
53
63
54
60
61
79
51
73
56
65
54
60
38
51
44
54
W
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
c
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
s
s
s
s
c
pc
r
s
Hi
78
73
77
56
74
75
80
22
87
75
74
74
81
80
87
81
84
75
79
78
79
57
68
55
77
Sat.
Lo
60
55
63
35
49
56
50
10
73
60
49
55
63
68
79
60
73
58
49
56
63
43
52
51
56
Ontario
35/46
Burns
24/49
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County residents
will notice more slash burning
activity than usual this week.
Forest operators will be
using a short window between
the end of fi re season and the
beginning of the rainy season
to pile tree tops and limbs and
burn them. This action reduces
the potential for wildfi re and
prepares sites for replanting
this winter.
Local 911 dispatch cen-
ters received a number of calls
Wednesday to report burnings,
but the state Department of
Forestry alerts dispatchers and
fi re departments daily about
permitted fi res.
The ODF Astoria District
monitors more than 450,000
acres for fi re safety. Those
seeking more information can
contact the district’s offi ce at
503-325-5451.
Oct. 15, 2017
MOORE, Madeline and
Jacob, of Chinook, Wash-
ington, a girl, Quincy Laur-
nell Moore, born at Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital in
Astoria. Grandparents are
Mike and Lynn Dickerson
of Long Beach, Washington,
and Lyle and Priscilla Moore
of Wenatchee, Washington.
Oct. 14, 2017
TARABOCHIA, Haley,
and JUMP, Nate, of Asto-
ria, a boy, Merrick James
Jump, born at Columbia
Memorial Hospital in Asto-
ria. Grandparents are Todd
and Johnette Longtain, Bil-
lie O’Bryant and Mark
Tarabochia.
Klamath Falls
30/50
Lakeview
27/46
Ashland
42/60
Monday, Oct. 23
OLSON, Carol Marie — Memorial at 2 p.m., Columbia River Maritime Museum, Barbey Mar-
itime Center, 1792 Marine Drive.
LOTTERIES
Thursday’s Lucky Lines: 04-
08-12-14-20-23-28-30
Estimated jackpot: $18,000
OREGON
Thursday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 7-6-9-0
4 p.m.: 6-7-5-2
7 p.m.: 3-4-6-4
10 p.m.: 4-1-9-2
WASHINGTON
Thursday’s Daily Game:
4-4-4
Thursday’s Keno: 01-03-04-
09-12-13-18-20-23-25-26-28-
32-39-51-60-61-72-73-79
Thursday’s Match 4: 14-15-
16-23
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
54
48
54
54
54
46
54
54
54
56
Today
Lo
28
36
47
42
46
30
42
45
46
48
W
sh
c
r
r
r
sn
r
r
r
r
Hi
42
56
56
58
59
50
61
60
58
61
Sat.
Lo W
38 sn
48 sh
53
r
52
r
53
r
33
r
47
r
55
r
53
r
55
r
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
54
56
55
55
55
54
54
52
54
62
Today
Lo
40
39
45
44
44
46
36
44
45
35
W
r
pc
r
r
r
r
c
r
r
pc
Hi
57
58
60
60
61
60
45
58
60
54
Sat.
Lo W
50
r
53 sh
55
r
54
r
55
r
53
r
42
r
54
r
55
r
48 sh
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
s
pc
pc
t
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
t
s
s
pc
t
pc
c
s
t
s
pc
s
s
r
s
Increased slash burning expected this week
TUESDAY
Astoria Library Board, 5:30 p.m., Astoria Library Flag Room, 450 10th St.
Astoria Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Baker
28/42
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
District for at least one year.
Applicant interviews will be
held during a special school
board meeting Oct. 30. The
fi rst meeting for the winning
candidate would be Nov. 8.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
UNDER THE SKY
High
7.8 ft.
8.8 ft.
La Grande
36/46
Roseburg
44/60
Brookings
47/59
Nov 18
John Day
34/51
Bend
36/56
Medford
42/61
Tonight's Sky: Low above the eastern horizon
before midnight is the Pleiades globular star cluster
(M45).
Time
3:06 a.m.
2:49 p.m.
Prineville
35/57
Lebanon
44/59
Eugene
42/58
SUN AND MOON
Sunset tonight ........................... 6:20 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday ........................ 7:41 a.m.
Moonrise today ........................... 8:23 a.m.
Moonset today ........................... 7:17 p.m.
Pendleton
39/58
The Dalles
42/54
Portland
45/60
Shawn Helligso
MEMORIAL
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Thursday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 55°/48°
Normal high/low ........................... 60°/44°
Record high ............................ 77° in 1938
Record low ............................. 31° in 1949
The Astoria School Board
is looking to replace nine-year
member Shawn Helligso, who
tendered his resignation earlier
this month.
“This has been a diffi cult
decision to reach, but I feel that
it is time for me to step down,”
Helligso wrote in an email to the
school district. “I do not have
the time or energy to devote my
full attention and commitment
to this important role.”
Helligso, a construction
superintendent with Helligso
Construction, was appointed
to the school board in 2008
and re-elected several times
thereafter. He most recently
ran unopposed in 2015.
His resignation comes less
than a year after Martin Dursse,
who was appointed to the school
board the same year, stepped
down. Dursse was eventually
replaced by Craft3 Chief Finan-
cial Offi cer David Oser.
The deadline to apply for
the vacant position is Thurs-
day. Applications for the posi-
tion are available on the dis-
trict’s website, www.astoria.
k12.or.us, or in the main offi ce
on the third fl oor of Capt. Rob-
ert Gray School at 785 Ala-
meda Ave.
Candidates must have been
residents of the Astoria School
BIRTHS
TUESDAY
61
45
ALMANAC
First
MONDAY
61
52
43
Cloudy and breezy;
rain late
SUNDAY
the efforts of a hiker, Liz Fitz-
Gerald of Portland, who said
she saw a boy toss a smoke
bomb into a ravine as girls
with him giggled and another
boy took video with his cell-
phone. FitzGerald continued
up the trail and then looked
back, saw smoke was growing,
and decided to run back to the
parking lot and warn others.
“I passed the teenagers at
that point,” FitzGerald told
Willamette Week newspa-
per. “It was a smaller group of
maybe seven or nine. Just as I
was passing them I said ‘Do
you realize you just started a
forest fi re?’ and the kid said,
‘Well, what are we supposed
to do about it now?’ And I
yelled over my shoulder ‘Call
the freaking fi re department!’”
After she got to the parking
lot by the Eagle Creek Trail-
head, she told a law enforce-
ment offi cer what she had
seen. He stopped a van car-
rying some of the group of
youths as they attempted to
leave.
The fi re was one of the
worst to hit the U.S. West
during a particularly intense
fi re season.
School board needs new member
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
the Gorge, was shut down, and
communities like nearby Cas-
cade Locks, which depend on
visitors to inject money into
the local economy, suffered a
severe setback.
The fi re removed vege-
tation, underbrush and tree
roots that support the Colum-
bia Gorge, and now authorities
expect landslides and rock-
slides with additional rain.
The Historic Columbia River
Highway and State Trail was
damaged by fi re and rock-
fall and remains closed. The
uncontained portion of the fi re
is in steep terrain and fi re man-
agers do not expect it to spread
further, authorities said.
The charges came after a
criminal investigation by the
Oregon State Police assisted
by U.S. Forest Service
investigators.
As the fi re took such a toll,
many enraged commenta-
tors on news media web sites
called for charges to be fi led,
and for the boy’s family to pay
some of the millions of dollars
in costs to fi ght the fi re.
“What happens next is for
the courts to decide,” said
Michael Lang, conservation
director for Friends of the
Columbia Gorge, a group ded-
icated to protecting the area.
“Friends of the Columbia
Gorge is focused on efforts to
heal the land, trails, and com-
munities affected by the fi re.”
The boy was caught due to
OBITUARY POLICY
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email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily
Astorian offi ce, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext.
257.
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