147TH YEAR, NO. 82
Investigators
knock
Warrenton
fi re readiness
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2020
$1.50
KING TIDES OFFER
A TASTE OF SEA LEVEL RISE
City faces more than
$10,000 in fi nes
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
WARRENTON — The city faces
$10,800 in fi nes from the state for
safety violations at the Warrenton Fire
Department.
The state Occupational Safety and
Health Administration initiated an inves-
tigation after anonymous complaints. It
fi ned the city $7,500 for not ensuring a
proper respiratory protection program,
$2,100 for not ensuring employees wore
the right protective equipment, $420 for
improper training, $420 for not main-
taining a safety committee, $180 for a
lack of equipment inspections and $180
for not keeping a hazard communication
program.
Tim Demers, the former fi re chief ,
resigned amid the investigation. The fi nd-
ings come shortly after the city hired
Brian Alsbury, the former deputy fi re
chief and volunteer, to replace Demers.
See Warrenton, Page A5
Photos by Oregon King Tides Project
Waves crash in Yaquina Bay during the king tides in December 2018. Researchers say these tides hint at
what could become a new normal along the Oregon Coast as sea levels rise due to climate change.
Tracking changes along the coast
How would life go on?”
King tides occur when the E arth, moon and sun
are all perfectly positioned to have a particularly
ing tides will once again hit the Oregon
strong effect on tides. T he highest tide during a
Coast this weekend, giving residents a taste
king tide can be very, very high, especially if a
of what life could be like in the near future.
winter storm gives it an extra boost.
Researchers say the tides are a preview of the
“It’s kind of a glimpse at the future,” said
rising sea levels caused by climate change that,
Ed Joyce, a board member for the c onservation
under current projections, could eventually sub-
c oalition.
merge much of the coast .
Joyce, who teaches geology at Clatsop Com-
A rmed with cameras and cellphones, citizen
munity College, oversees marine debris surveys at
scientists in Oregon have
a site near the South Jetty
documented these tides
in Fort Stevens State Park
‘YOU LOOK AT THAT
each winter for nearly a
and has photographed the
decade as part of the Ore-
king tides there for the
AND YOU THINK THIS
gon King Tides Project
p ast few winters. It dove-
coordinated by the Oregon
MAYBE HAPPENS ONCE, tails nicely with work he
Coastal Management Pro-
has been doing in a collab-
TWICE A WINTER. WE
gram and Oregon Shores
oration between the col-
Conservation Coalition.
lege and the state to mon-
GET FLOODING THIS
They’ve snapped shots
itor long-term changes in
of water and waves rush-
beach profi les.
BAD AND WE’RE USED
ing up against houses or
Sea level rise — caused
TO IT. BUT THEN YOU
sloshing across highways.
by a warming ocean and
Photos taken from the air
melting from ice sheets
THINK, WHAT IF THIS
above the Nehalem River
and glaciers — as well
show just how much estu-
as other climate change
WERE A DAILY HIGH
ary shoreline the water is
impacts are diffi cult to
TIDE? HOW WOULD
capable of gobbling up.
predict for any one loca-
One main purpose of
tion on the coast.
LIFE
GO
ON?’
the project is to turn peo-
In some places, includ-
ple’s attention to the water.
ing at the mouth of the
Phillip Johnson | executive director
Phillip Johnson, the
Columbia River, sea level
of the conservation coalition
executive director of the
rise appears to be declin-
c onservation
c oalition,
ing, offset by shifts in
thinks of the aerial view of the Coquille River
the tectonic plates that are causing areas like the
Valley, a productive area south of Coos Bay,
Columbia River estuary and Clatsop Plains to
during king tides.
gain elevation. But eventually, researchers pre-
Farmhouses were surrounded by water and
dict, the water will catch up.
water was nearly a foot from a levee that protects
A decade of king tide photos is not enough to
the town of Coquille. “It looked like an inland
document dramatic change on the Oregon Coast.
sea,” he said.
Not yet. And the king tides themselves can be
“You look at that and you think this maybe
almost a non event in some places without a win-
happens once, twice a winter,” he said. “We get
ter storm behind them.
fl ooding this bad and we’re used to it. But then
See King tides, Page A5
you think, what if this were a daily high tide?
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
K
Preservation
society wants
to spare old
farmhouse
County plans to burn it down
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
In a last-ditch effort to save a farm-
house on the Clatsop County Fairgrounds,
the Lower Columbia Preservation Soci-
ety is urging c ounty c ommissioners to
halt a planned burn .
In December , the Fair Board decided
to donate the farmhouse to the Oregon
State Fire Marshal for fi refi ghter train-
ing instead of paying for demolition.
The board agreed not to spend any more
money on the house.
The F air B oard had looked at several
options to restore the house over the years,
including a partnership with the preserva-
tion society, but none panned out.
See Farmhouse, Page A5
Songstress
brings some
love to the PAC
Shannon plans concert
on Valentine’s Day
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Kelley Shannon loves
painting, cooking, cutting
hair — any positive inter-
action that brings joy to
people .
“I love anything that
gives me the ability to
interact with people,” she
said.
On Valentine’s Day,
Shannon,
a jazz vocal-
Kelley
ist
and
stylist
at Panache
Shannon
Hair & Nail Lounge in
Astoria, will put her twist on decades of
love songs with the help of pianist George
Colligan at the Performing Arts Center .
See Shannon, Page A5
King tides push water levels up along Ecola Creek in 2018.