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Canyon Creek slips in
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By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
When it comes to priori-
tizing the multitude of giant
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West, the Canyon Creek
Complex is no longer on top
of the nation’s list.
That distinction now
belongs to the Okanogan
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burning nearly 90,000 acres
in north-central Washington
state. The Canyon Creek
Complex now ranks third
overall, behind Okanogan
and the North Star Fire
located north of Coulee
Dam, Washington.
That’s not to suggest
help isn’t coming in daily to
Canyon Creek. Staff on the
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Thursday morning, which
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second-largest city in rural
Grant County.
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recognize the enormous
need to protect lives, homes
and infrastructure in Wash-
ington, where the Okanogan
Complex and North Star Fire
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square miles.
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get preference for resources
is a process overseen by
a number of the state and
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commanders on the ground
level of each individual
blaze.
It starts at the National
Interagency Fire Center in
Boise, where a team of lead-
ership known as the National
Multi-Agency Coordinating
Group sets priority by
geographic region. Federal
agencies represented in the
group include the Bureau of
Land Management, Bureau
of Indian Affairs, Forest
Service, Fish and Wildlife
Service, National Parks,
U.S. Fire Administration and
National Association of State
Foresters.
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continues to be the high-
est-priority region in the
reviewed daily.
“It’s kind of a constant
moving around of resources,”
she said.
Within the Northwest
region, there is another inter-
agency coordination center
based in Portland that evalu-
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particular need of help. As
conditions change on a dime
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directions, the main criteria
boil down to public safety,
followed by protecting
homes and protecting other
Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian via AP
infrastructure,
such
as
Firefighters work to contain the Canyon Creek bridges and power lines.
Complex fire, Tuesday near John Day. Fire managers
Koshare Eagle, spokes-
overwhelmed by massive wildfires blazing across the woman with the Northwest
West are looking for help wherever they can find it and Interagency
Coordination
have called in 200 active-duty military troops to fight
Center,
said
incident
the flames.
commanders send in a work-
sheet every day that details
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Crews brace for tough weather
public safety and homes,
Conditions appeared ripe Thursday for more explosive
among other resources. A
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second multi-agency team
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— this one made up of repre-
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sentatives from each agency
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afternoon through Friday evening for the area, with wind
Washington — reviews the
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information and issues an
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bulletin of priorities.
Haines Index, a meteorology tool used to gauge dry,
The
Canyon
Creek
unstable air in the atmosphere that could lead to erratic
Complex,
which
continues
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to threaten more than 700
trouble.
structures, is now third on the
Amanda Graning, incident meteorologist with the
list. But that doesn’t mean
Canyon Creek Complex, said the forecast basically trans-
it couldn’t change quickly,
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Eagle said.
“Anytime you have strong, gusty winds, you’ll be
“It really is going to depend
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Graning said.
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The Canyon Creek Complex grew Wednesday night
communities threatened on
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said.
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Nor does it mean, just
to see the most action, unless the winds suddenly change
because the Okanogan
direction.
Complex tops the list, it
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said. “Terrains could be variable. Especially in the valleys,
everything. Cozakos said the
you could have local effects.”
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orders for resources, though
country, and remains under the National Interagency they are about as stretched as
D 3UHSDUHGQHVV /HYHO Fire Center. “It’s not random. they can get.
IRU ZLOG¿UHV ZKLFK LV WKH There is some strategy in
Incident priorities for
highest level issued.
SODFLQJ WKRVH ¿UHV LQ WKH the Northwest posted daily
“We help prioritize and order they are in.”
online at www.gacc.nifc.
mobilize resources to (inci-
Fire activity in the North- gov/nwcc/
dents) based on the need,” west continues to escalate,
———
said Christine Cozakos, Cozakos said, which has
Contact George Plaven
spokeswoman with the led to the current situation. at gplaven@eastoregonian.
Forest Service stationed at %XWWKHVLWXDWLRQLVÀXLGDQG com or 541-966-0825.
FIRE: Prairie City population little more than 900
Continued from 1A
threatening homes. Residents
on Ricco Ranch, Standard
Creek and Dixie Creek were
told to evacuate immediately,
and Dixie Butte was put on
a Level 2 evacuation notice,
meaning they should prepare
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A spokeswoman with
the Oregon Department of
Forestry said she did not
know exactly how many
crews were diverted from
Canyon Creek to Jerry’s
Draw, but did say the depart-
ment sent some engines to
help with initial attack.
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they said wasn’t started by
lightning.
Prairie City is a town with
a population a little more than
900 people. On Thursday,
residents could be found
loading their cars and waiting
on their front porches for the
latest evacuation updates.
Heidi Cearns said she
heard from a neighbor her
street was among those
under a Level 2 evacuation.
She rounded up her most
important documents and
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call to leave.
“For the most part,
there’s not much you can
do,” Cearns said. “It’s just a
waiting game.”
Amanda Graning, incident
meteorologist on the Canyon
Creek Complex, said how
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the “big money question.”
Graning said at a commu-
nity meeting Thursday after-
noon at Grant Union High
School that strong winds
would blow west by north-
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however, they are expected to
shift to the east. On Saturday,
gusts are expected to ease to
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Although the Canyon
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dent Commander Beth Lund
“For the most
part, there’s not
much you can do.
It’s just a
waiting game.”
— Heidi Cearns,
evacuated Prairie resident
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contained along the north-
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Canyon City and John Day.
Lund said it was possible
that, by Friday morning,
more would be contained.
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but it is not building toward
communities or homes,”
Lund said. “Fall Mountain
was a concern. Vance Creek
gave us troubles, but it all
looks pretty good now.”
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“starting to look better,”
although it ran up to the
ridge lines behind Seneca
Wednesday. Seneca is still
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alert, meaning that residents
are put on notice that they
may eventually have to
evacuate.
On Thursday, crews were
able to hang onto the south-
west corner, “and that’s a big
deal,” Lund said. However,
she expressed concern about
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previously burned area called
Parrish Cabin and along Dog
Creek and Pine Creek ridges.
Also being watched
carefully is a youth camp
south of the Canyon Creek
complex line near Logan
Valley. Oregon State Fire
Marshal Jim Walker, who
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incident commander, said
engines were sent to that area
to protect the camp, where
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Power poles should be
going up soon, said Lara
Petitclerc-Stokes,
spokes-
woman for the Oregon Trail
Electric Co-op.
Power restoration is
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Canyon City and at the J Bar
L Ranch. Additional poles
will be arriving Friday and
Saturday, she said.
Although there was a
temporary loss of power on
Fall Mountain Wednesday
when OTEC had to de-en-
ergize the line, the power
has been restored, Petit-
clerc-Stokes said. Power is
also back on Miller Moun-
tain, she added.
Rumors of potential
rolling blackouts are not true,
Stokes said.
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expected to be open begin-
ning Saturday morning, said
Paul Woodward, district
manager for the Oregon
Department of Transpor-
tation. A pilot car will lead
vehicles on the highway
every hour. The opening will
occur during daylight hours
only for a while until signs
are replaced, guardrails are
repaired and hazards are
removed, he said.
(DVW2UHJRQLDQ
Page 3A
State can provide
little in the way of
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By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Although
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
said that the state will do
everything it can to make
sure victims of the Canyon
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tools, resources and knowl-
edge they need to rebuild,
the state can provide little in
the way of direct aid.
Its only aid program
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relief program — has strict
income restrictions that will
exclude all but the poorest
of applicants.
Earlier this year, state
lawmakers passed a bill
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very low-income residents
who lose their primary
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household.
To qualify for the
program, a household’s
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below the federal poverty
level. For example, a
household of four would
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per year to be eligible.
Organizations that serve
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area expect that the criteria
will likely prevent some
homeowners from getting
help from the program.
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people within that income
bracket, but there are more
people that need help also,”
said Margaret Davidson,
executive
director
of
Community
Connection
of Northeast Oregon, an
agency that serves Grant
County.
When the organization
learned of the program,
“We thought, ‘This is going
to exclude a lot of people,’”
she said.
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to the program may not be
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year, Davidson said.
It is possible for Oregon
Housing and Community
Services, which adminis-
ters the program, to shift
money from other parts of
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relief fund if necessary,
said Rem Nivens, assistant
director of public affairs for
the agency.
As of Aug. 20, nobody
affected by the Canyon
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applied for assistance, he
said.
The program is aimed
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that low-income residents
face when they suddenly
need to relocate after a
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executive direct of Neigh-
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serves Central Oregon.
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it’s not going to rebuild
your house. But at least it
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next steps of your life after
you’ve lost everything,” he
said.
The program will help
those who would have
“fallen through the cracks
otherwise,” Cooper said.
“You’re talking about
people who could not
afford to pay an insurance
premium.”
Rep. Mike McLane,
R-Powell Butte, originally
wanted to devote $200,000
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housing relief program but
scaled back the amount
after discussions with legis-
lative leaders, said Kara
Walker, his spokesperson.
The legislature’s Emer-
gency Board — which
makes emergency funding
decisions — may decide to
increase the overall amount
and ease the income
requirements, she said.
McLane is a member of the
board, which meets next
month.
It’s also possible that
assistance funding could
be
obtained
through
the Federal Emergency
Management Agency if
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a federal disaster, said
Cooper of NeighborImpact.
However, that’s unlikely
to happen unless an event
displaces large numbers
of people, Cooper said.
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rise to that level.”
Melissa Navas, spokes-
person for Brown, said
state agencies will partner
with institutions such as
the American Red Cross to
help residents who’ve lost
homes.
“The
governor
is
utilizing existing staff and
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such as Regional Solutions
and Constituent Services,
to foster collaboration
between state agencies and
local governments,” Navas
said in an email. “This will
connect those affected by
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develop strategies to assist
them.”
Public Meeting in
Milton-Freewater
- Aug. 24
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will host a Public Open
House Meeting August 24 to provide information and hear comments
regarding the Birch Creek Road Bridge Replacement Project . The
purpose of the meeting is to share project plans with the community,
provide a project status update and make key project staff available for
questions from interested parties. The meeting will be held 6 – 7:30 p.m.
at the Milton-Freewater Public Library . All interested parties are
encouraged to attend.
The goal of the project is to replace the Umatilla County, single lane Walla
Walla River bridge located along Birch Creek Road north of Milton-
Freewater. This bridge, built in 1956, is functionally and structurally
obsolete. The roadway has 90 degree curves leading into one end of the
bridge which has caused some impacts to the structure. The abutments
are also experiencing some scour. This has resulted in the load rating
being lowered to 3 tons.
The new bridge will be built adjacent to the existing structure on a better
alignment to improve safety. The new 34-foot-wide, 200-foot-long bridge
will accommodate two-lane traffic. The existing bridge will remain in place
during construction to minimize impacts to local road users. The project is
scheduled to bid April 2016 with construction starting June 2016.
The open house will include representatives of Umatilla County and the
ODOT Bridge design, Environmental and Right of Way staff, who will be
available to present information on the project and answer questions.
Historical significance of Birch Creek Road Bridge
The existing Walla Walla River, Birch Creek Road Bridge (#59C483) is a
110-foot long Pratt pony truss built in 1956 as part of a collection of welded
steel bridges commissioned by Umatilla County in the 1950s and 1960s.
The truss is the earliest remaining example of a fully welded steel truss in
the state of Oregon. The bridge was evaluated by ODOT and reviewed by
the Oregon State Historic Preservation Officer, and has been determined
to be potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places due to its structure type and construction technique. Because the
bridge is a historic resource, removing it through the proposed project,
without repurposing it, would result in an adverse effect finding per Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and will trigger Section 4(f) of
the Federal Transportation Act, which will require mitigation for the adverse
impact. The history of the bridge will be described in greater detail at the
open house, and ODOT will be seeking public comment on potential
impacts and mitigation opportunities.
Questions about the project or the Open House Meeting can be directed to
Ken Patterson, ODOT Project Leader at (541) 963-1365 or
email Kenneth.e.patterson@odot.state.or.us