2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018
F-15 dogfights shatter the calm in Oregon wilderness
Like a virtual
video game
By MARK FREEMAN
The Mail Tribune
MEDFORD — Each year
Gabe Howe of Ashland hikes
deep into his beloved Kal-
miopsis Wilderness Area to
really get away from it all.
But on June 21, it was if he
had hiked into a virtual video
game.
Out of nowhere, F-15
fighter jets streaked across the
sky, complete with dogfights
and evasive maneuvers as if
someone was shooting mis-
siles at them — despite the
fact that it’s fire season in this
remote area.
“It was like a war zone,”
says Howe, executive direc-
tor of the Siskiyou Mountain
Club. “These fighter jets were
chasing each other around,
sonic booms and even shoot-
ing off flares. That’s not the
experience I’m looking for.
“It’s not conducive to the
management of a wilderness,”
says Howe, who shot a short
video of a spent flare in the air.
“It doesn’t seem they should
be doing that in a place of that
level of protection.”
Turns out the Oregon Air
Oregon Military Department
F-15 Eagles fly over the Oregon Coast.
National Guard enjoys the
Kalmiopsis for the same rea-
son Howe does: Getting away
from people.
“We don’t like to fly over
populated areas,” says Senior
Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar
at Klamath Falls’ Kingsley
Field, the only F-15 fighter
training facility in the United
States.
Guard pilots train on week-
days and the occasional Sat-
urday in so-called “Military
Operations Areas” mostly in
central Oregon but occasion-
ally in southwest Oregon,
smack-dab in one of Oregon’s
wildest recesses, records
show.
The Kalmiopsis is part
of the Dolphin MOA, a sec-
ondary training area that the
Guard can use without the con-
sent, blessing or even knowl-
edge of Rogue River-Siski-
you National Forest officials
because the military and the
Federal Aviation Administra-
tion control the airspace.
BIRTH
The Daily Astorian
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
72
55
54
Sunshine and nice;
breezy in the afternoon
Partly cloudy
ALMANAC
Pleasant with some sun
First
Full
July 19
Salem
56/90
Newport
53/67
Coos Bay
57/70
Last
July 27
Aug 4
John Day
54/88
La Grande
50/86
Burns
45/89
Roseburg
58/91
Klamath Falls
49/92
Lakeview
49/92
Ashland
57/96
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
6:58 a.m.
6:39 p.m.
Low
-1.2 ft.
2.4 ft.
Hi
82
81
74
81
67
84
90
77
68
70
Today
Lo
44
46
57
51
56
49
57
54
53
56
W
s
s
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
Hi
87
86
76
88
69
92
96
87
67
69
Wed.
Lo
46
53
57
57
58
53
62
60
53
56
W
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
73
85
78
84
80
69
79
82
77
84
Today
Lo
50
55
60
58
56
55
56
54
57
51
W
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
Hi
82
89
88
91
90
72
85
88
87
90
Wed.
Lo
52
60
64
62
61
57
61
57
61
58
W
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
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TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Lo
74
70
68
65
73
63
71
52
77
69
74
82
69
76
77
74
78
71
71
72
74
72
61
58
76
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
W
s
s
s
s
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s
pc
sh
pc
t
s
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pc
t
t
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t
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pc
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pc
t
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pc
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Hi
93
76
85
97
93
85
91
65
88
86
96
97
89
94
89
91
89
86
91
89
93
93
78
79
89
Wed.
Lo
74
63
69
65
74
62
71
51
76
66
74
83
69
76
79
71
78
66
73
68
72
73
63
60
71
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
pc
s
pc
s
s
pc
c
pc
s
s
t
pc
t
pc
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APPLIANCE
AND HOME
FURNISHINGS
529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON
503-861-0929
IN
YE TSOP
C LA NTY
C OU
allegedly trespassed in his
mother’s home and damaged
property. At 11:04 a.m. Sun-
day, his mother came home
from work and allegedly
found him sleeping. After he
woke up, police arrived and
arrested him again. While
being led to the police car in
handcuffs, Taylor allegedly
began resisting, forcing three
officers to restrain him. Two
officers sustained cuts and
were bleeding. Once in the
police car, Taylor allegedly
began yelling and kicking the
door of the police car, caus-
ing roughly $500 worth of
damage.
DUII
• At 2:51 a.m. Sunday,
Michael Kakuska, 22, of Sea-
side, was arrested by Warren-
ton police on Eighth Street
and Main Avenue and charged
with driving under the influ-
ence of intoxicants and pos-
session of inhalants.
& Cremation Service of Astoria
is in charge of the arrangements.
CABIC, Sharon, 73, of Sea-
side, died in Seaside. Ocean
View Funeral & Cremation
Service of Astoria is in charge
of the arrangements.
July 4, 2018
HARRIS, Gregory Alan,
54, of Gresham, formerly of
Warrenton, died in Portland.
Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mor-
tuary of Astoria is in charge of
the arrangements.
July 2, 2018
FRANKLIN, John A., 72,
of Seaside, died in Seaside.
Ocean View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
DEATHS
July 7, 2018
MOSIER, Mary R., 67, of
Gearhart, died in Gearhart.
Ocean View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
July 6, 2018
ARAGON, Bonaventura, 76,
of Bremerton, Washington, died
in Astoria. Ocean View Funeral
Clatsop County Fair Board,
5:30 p.m., Clatsop County Fair-
grounds, 92937 Walluski Loop.
Miles Crossing Sanitary
Sewer District Board, 6
p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway 101
Business.
Clatsop Community College
Board, 6:30 p.m., Columbia
Hall Room 219, 1651 Lexington
Ave.
WEDNESDAY
Astoria City Council, 9 a.m.,
work session on library, City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners, 6 p.m., Judge
Guy Boyington Building, 857
Commercial St.
Wickiup Water District Board,
6:30 p.m., 92648 Svensen Mar-
ket Road, Svensen.
Estimated jackpot: $37,000
Monday’s Megabucks: 1-5-12-
18-24-28
Estimated jackpot: $3 million
Estimated jackpot: $150,000
Monday’s Keno: 04-13-14-18-
20-22-27-29-34-40-42-43-44-50-
52-60-66-75-76-78
Monday’s Lotto: 02-07-17-22-
36-45
Estimated jackpot: $4.7 million
Monday’s Match 4: 01-15-18-23
LOTTERIES
PACKAGE DEALS
Mattresses, Furniture
& More!
Assault
• After two incidents last
weekend, Adam Taylor, 22,
of Warrenton, was arrested
by Warrenton police on the
470 block of Main Ave-
nue and charged with two
counts of assaulting a pub-
lic safety officer, resisting
arrest, two counts of first-de-
gree criminal trespass and
two counts of criminal mis-
chief. At 2:01 p.m. Saturday,
Taylor was arrested after he
TUESDAY
Astoria Design Review Com-
mittee, 5 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Astoria Historic Landmarks
Commission, after Design
Review Committee meeting,
City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Cannon Beach City Council,
5:30 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
APPLIANCE
3 A 0 RS
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 27 in
partnership with the non-
profit and Clatsop Commu-
nity College, which offers
a maritime science pro-
gram. The event will fea-
ture a group of working
mariners talking about their
jobs. Attendees can learn
about job opportunities and
requirements.
Sea School Northwest
staff will also be on hand to
answer questions and talk
about scholarship opportuni-
ties available to anyone 18 to
35 who makes less than dou-
ble the federal poverty level.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
Over
The Grays Harbor Histori-
cal Seaport, the nonprofit that
runs the tall ships Hawaiian
Chieftain and Lady Washing-
ton, is bringing a maritime
training program to Astoria
later this month.
The nonprofit operates
Sea School Northwest, a pro-
gram designed to train adults
for entry-level maritime
jobs in eight weeks at sea.
“We are looking for young
adults who are ready to jump
in, and start something totally
new in their life,” Cait-
lin Stanton, assistant direc-
tor of the program, said in a
release. “Joining Sea School
Northwest means you will
leave home, join the crew of
a ship, and become a mariner.
If you complete the program,
you’ll get a foot in the door
to an amazing, high-wage,
growing job market. We have
scholarships for people who
are ready to make the leap,
and for people from the Ore-
gon Coast, this work is part
of a long tradition.”
The Columbia River Mar-
itime Museum will host a
maritime industry panel from
ON THE RECORD
Baker
44/87
Ontario
62/95
Bend
46/86
Medford
57/96
Tonight's Sky: Corona Borealis, the northern crown,
high overhead as darkness falls.
Hi
92
91
86
98
90
88
89
69
88
90
95
99
91
91
89
91
91
92
90
93
95
98
79
73
95
Prineville
47/89
Lebanon
55/88
Brookings
60/81
UNDER THE SKY
High
7.2 ft.
Pendleton
55/89
The Dalles
58/94
Portland
60/88
Eugene
51/88
Sunset tonight ........................... 9:07 p.m.
Sunrise Wednesday .................... 5:35 a.m.
Moonrise today ........................... 3:23 a.m.
Moonset today ........................... 6:41 p.m.
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
Times of clouds and sun
Tillamook
52/73
SUN AND MOON
Time
1:21 p.m.
none
70
55
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
54/72
Precipitation
Monday ............................................ Trace
Month to date ................................... 0.02"
Normal month to date ....................... 0.40"
Year to date .................................... 35.67"
Normal year to date ........................ 36.31"
July 12
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
SATURDAY
67
53
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Monday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 65°/57°
Normal high/low ........................... 67°/53°
Record high ............................ 91° in 1926
Record low ............................. 41° in 1938
New
FRIDAY
72
55
The small fire was in the
Ashland watershed and was
extinguished, Lucas says.
Howe says his Siskiyou
Mountain Club crew was in
the Kalmiopsis last year on
the eve of the Chetco Bar Fire
when they saw the F-15s prac-
tice dogfighting and fire flares.
The Chetco Bar Fire,
which eventually enveloped
191,197 acres including por-
tions of the Kalmiopsis in the
upper Chetco River Basin,
was caused by lightning, and
Howe says “unequivocally”
that no spent flares ignited any
portion of that fire.
When the crew returned,
Howe says he talked to them
individually about what they
saw and their accounts were
consistent. They were also
consistent with rumors Howe
had heard from botanists and
others who venture into the
Kalmiopsis.
However, he didn’t say
anything at the time because
he didn’t think people would
believe him.
“It just sounds like a con-
spiracy,” Howe says. “Liv-
ing in Ashland, people
would associate me with the
anti-vaccination crowd or the
chemtrails crowd.
“But I saw it with my own
two eyes,” he says.
Maritime workers talk job opportunities
June 29, 2018
NESS, Melissa and Luke, of Warrenton, a girl, Zoe Rose Ness, born at Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital in Astoria. Grandparents are Denise Ness, Teresa Brownlie and Terry Johnson, all of Astoria.
TONIGHT
Shirar declined to say how
often F-15s enter that area, but
she did say training involved
dogfights and the shooting of
flares.
The flares are actually
magnesium pellets that, when
ignited, burn less than 10 sec-
onds but at 2,000 degrees
Fahrenheit, according to the
Guard’s 2002 environmental
assessment for their use.
The burn temperature
is hotter than the aircraft
exhaust, so it attracts and
decoys heat-seeking weapons
fired at the aircraft.
A 2017 Guard environ-
mental study states pilots
don’t fire the flares lower than
5,000 feet above the ground
— far higher than the 1,000-
foot minimum to ensure no
wildfires occur. Also, every
safety precaution is taken,
including shots to ensure the
flares burn out before they hit
the 5,000-foot elevation, Shi-
rar says.
“This is our state, too,”
Shirar says. “We live here. We
recreate here. We want to keep
our state beautiful as well.”
Amanda Lucas, the unit
aviation officer for the U.S.
Forest Service and federal
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment in southwest Oregon,
says there have not been any
documented fires cause by
National Guard flares in west-
ern Oregon, but a few have
been found in central Oregon.
However, the forest has
documented one fire triggered
by a fired flare, Lucas says.
That occurred during Pres-
ident George W. Bush’s 2004
visit to the Rogue Valley,
when fighter planes deployed
flares as general protection
for Air Force One from possi-
ble ground-to-surface missiles
during landing, Lucas says.
HOURS OPEN: MON-FRI 8-6 * SATURDAY * SUNDAY 10-4
We Service What We Sell
OREGON
Monday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 5-2-8-4
4 p.m.: 8-5-9-2
7 p.m.: 8-5-5-5
10 p.m.: 0-3-4-1
Monday’s Lucky Lines: 04-08-
11-16-20-22-27-32
WASHINGTON
Monday’s Daily Game: 5-7-1
Monday’s Hit 5: 08-09-21-23-30
The Daily Astorian
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(USPS 035-000)
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