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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2017)
83/55 KISSING KITTIES AT THE CAPITOL BEAVERS LOOK AHEAD TO 2018 NORTHWEST/2A SPORTS/1B State denies request to suspend new dairy REGION/3A TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 141st Year, No. 181 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD HERMISTON Wind-blown fi re destroys duplex Fireworks blamed for blaze that started in adjacent fi eld By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Firefi ghters attempt to contain a fi re burning in a residence on Northwest 13th Street after a grass fi re burned into the neighborhood from a fi eld near the Oxbow Trail on Monday in Hermiston. A fi re that started in tall grass near the Oxbow Trail destroyed a duplex at Northwest 13th Street and West Ridgeway Avenue on Monday afternoon. Firefi ghters from the Umatilla County Fire District 1 as well as Pendleton, Boardman, Umatilla and Echo fi re depart- ments spent several hours battling the fl ames and thick smoke, which billowed over the entire neighborhood. Police had 35 residents evacuate their homes as a precaution. The fi re started a little after 1 p.m. and spread across about seven acres before reaching the duplex. On their Facebook page, UCFD 1 said they were able to save fi ve homes and 12 apartments from damage. They said 40 to 50 fi refi ghters were involved in fi ghting the fl ames in already See FIRE/9A Escaped youth inmates still on the run Sightings reported in Milton-Freewater, Meacham this weekend La Grande Observer and East Oregonian Two escapees from a state juvenile corrections facility in La Grande remain at large and now are suspects in new crimes. One was spotted in Meacham and Milton-Free- water over the weekend. Brittain McAuliffe and Micah West, both 18, escaped the evening of June 20 from the Camp Riverbend Youth Transitional Facility, 58231 Highway 244, La Grande. Oregon State Police thought the two might be in the old Blue Mountain Lounge building on the south edge of Meacham. OSP Sgt. Kyle Hove said law enforce- ment offi cers surrounded the building but found nobody inside. OSP troopers knew some- body recently entered the building because its door was open after it had been closed when police had passed by earlier in the morning, Hove said. OSP, with assistance from the Union County Sheriff’s See INMATES/9A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Fire crews in training practice digging a fi re line around a controlled burn during wildland fi refi ghter training Friday at the Northeast Oregon Fire School east of Meacham. READY FOR MORE Seasonal fi refi ghters get hands-on training in the Blue Mountains “I wouldn’t say we like the stress and chaos of it all, but we defi nitely thrive in it.” By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian Marching single fi le with his fi refi ghting crew along Summit Road in the Blue Mountains, Nick Boling could see a plume of white smoke rise above the pines. Boling, 28, took note of the fi re’s behavior as they drew closer. White smoke likely meant the blaze was low intensity, creeping in grass and fallen branches as opposed to climbing the tops of trees. The wind was also calm, which would prevent the fl ames from spreading too quickly. Of course, the fi re was nothing more than a controlled burn, allowing fi rst-time seasonal fi refi ghters like Boling to get their feet wet — so to speak — on a live blaze. The crew worked in lockstep swinging their shovels and pulaskis to build a fi re line, mimicking what to do when an actual wildfi re sparks. Readiness is key for wild- land fi refi ghters, and Friday marked the last day of North- — Nick Boling, fi refi ghter trainee at North- east Oregon Fire School Staff photo by E.J. Harris A fi re crew embarks for a training exercise to a controlled burn Friday at the Northeast Oregon Fire School east of Meacham. east Oregon Fire School where about 100 trainees from multiple agencies got some much-needed practice in the Umatilla National Forest between Pendleton and La Grande. The timing was nearly perfect, as Monday would usher in the beginning of fi re season for more than 2 million acres of forestland within the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Northeast Oregon District. Along with ODF, fi re school brought together trainees from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs. Students spent much of their week in the classroom at Eastern Oregon University, learning about how fi res react to changes in conditions and how crews are organized, before honing their skills on one of 10 controlled burns ignited by drip torches. Joel McCraw, who works for the Forest Service in Baker City and helps to coor- dinate fi re school, said Friday was like the fi nal exam for rookies to earn their red cards and become certifi ed wildland fi refi ghters. “This is the fi nal part of the course for them to get their certifi cate,” McCraw said. Boling, a native of Columbus, Ohio, is gearing up for fi re season as a See TRAINEES/9A
