REGION
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Firefi ghters gain upper hand on blazes
Evacuations lifted
for Anthony Lakes
East Oregonian
HEPPNER
Landmark barn destroyed
in lightning-sparked fi re
East Oregonian
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
A wildfi re burning near
Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort on the Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest is
now largely under control
as management of the blaze
transitions to a smaller,
more local fi refi ghting team.
The Bear Butte fi re,
located 20 miles northwest
of Baker City, has charred
499 acres and is 85 percent
contained as of Monday
morning. The Baker County
Sheriff’s Offi ce has lifted
evacuation orders around
Anthony Lakes recreation
area, though road closures
remain in effect for Forest
Service roads 73, 43, 7325,
5185 and the Elkhorn Crest
Trail.
A Type 3 incident
management team took
control of fi refi ghting oper-
ations Monday, and approx-
imately 160 personnel
remain assigned to the fi re.
Crews will continue to
mop up hot spots around
the fi re perimeter, as well
as identify hazard trees and
boulders along the Anthony
Lakes Highway.
While recent storms
have brought much-needed
moisture, the rain has also
made for loose and unstable
soil within the fi re area,
increasing the risk for down
trees and rock slides across
the roadway. Roads will
stay closed until fi refi ghters
can fully assess the safety of
the area.
Photo contributed by U.S. Forest Service
The Corn Cob Creek fi re, located on the Heppner Ranger District of the Umatilla
National Forest, burned four acres and is now fully contained.
The cause of the Bear
Butte fi re still is not known.
Weekend thunderstorms
also brought ample lightning
to the southern end of the
Umatilla National Forest,
keeping fi refi ghters on their
toes. The largest incidents
include:
• North Fork Cable Creek
fi re, located 10 miles south-
east Ukiah. The 28-acre
blaze was reported Saturday,
burning in grass and timber
and threatening nearby
structures. The fi re is now
80 percent lined, and crews
and working on securing
the perimeter. Resources
include six engines and
three water tenders.
• Corn Cob Creek fi re,
located near Wheeler Point
on the Heppner Ranger
District. Firefi ghters have
fully contained the fi re
at four acres, and are
conducting mop-up activi-
ties.
• Red Fir Fire, located
20 miles southwest of La
Grande. Like the Corn Cob
Creek fi re, it is now fully
contained at four acres.
The North Fork John
Day Ranger District was hit
with 12 total fi res, and more
smoke reports are expected
this week as weather condi-
tions improve. Four fi res
are located within the North
Fork John Day Wilderness
near Winom Butte, and
aerial attacks have so far
been unsuccessful due
to low cloud cover that’s
prevented aircraft from
fl ying into the area.
Fire managers plan to
get resources on scene as
soon as safely possible.
Meanwhile, the fi re danger
rating is still extreme despite
the recent rain, and Phase C
public use restrictions are in
effect banning all campfi res
and chainsaw use.
For more information
about restrictions, call the
forest information hotline
at 1-877-958-9663, or visit
www.fs.usda.gov/umatilla.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Field fi re in Stanfi eld nearly burns house
East Oregonian
A fi eld fi re engulfed several pieces
of equipment and nearly burned a home
and in Stanfi eld on Monday afternoon.
Crews responded to the blaze in a fi eld
off East Harding and North Wayne
streets a little before 4 p.m., and were
able to stop it from affecting the home
near where it started.
Adrian Montoa, who lives in a home
on North Wayne Street that was closest
to the fi re, said the fl ames almost got his
house.
“I was just sitting in my computer
room, and saw the fi re out my window,”
he said, adding that it burned the bushes
near his house.
Up the hill in a fi eld, several pieces
of farm equipment were engulfed
in the fl ames, which sent a cloud of
black smoke over the area for about
20 minutes. Firefi ghters had the blaze
under control by about 4:20 p.m.
The cause of the fi re is unknown at
this time.
PENDLETON
Wells repaired, outdoor
watering easement lifted
East Oregonian
Pendleton’s two largest
water wells are again
working. Bob Patterson, the
city’s public works director,
reported the city on Saturday
lifted its request for residents
to end outside watering.
The well at Roy Raley
Park stopped working the
fi rst week of August, then
the well at Stillman Park
quit on Aug. 7. The two
wells provide the city with
about 4.6 million gallons of
water each day.
Patterson
in
email
updates said crews repaired
the Stillman well and had
it working Saturday. That
returned about 2 million
gallons of water to the city’s
supply, he said.
And Monday morning
the Roy Raley well was
back at work after repairs.
Patterson said the well is the
city’s largest and provides
about 2.6 million gallons
per day.
While watering is a go,
Patterson said the city “will
continue to balance water
supply needs with reduced
irrigation at city parks and
with our largest outside irri-
gation water customers.” He
also said the city appreciates
all its customers’ efforts to
reduce their water usage
during the situation.
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UCFD Fire Marshal Tom Bohm surveys the fi eld in Stanfi eld that was
burning around 4:00 p.m. Monday.
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Wednesday, Aug. 16
Reptile Man & Kid Zone
Scarecrow Contest
The Junebugs
A local landmark was
destroyed in a fi re this
weekend, but the owners of
the property are relieved the
damage wasn’t worse.
Mark and Shannon
Miller’s barn, located off
Highway 206 in the Ruggs
area near Condon, was
burned in a fi re sparked by
lightning on Friday night.
The blaze spread 700 to 800
acres and took about three
hours to extinguish. The
barn was the only structure
damaged in the fi re.
Shannon Miller, whose
family has owned the prop-
erty for many years, said she
heard about the fi re from her
home in North Lexington,
where she and her husband
raise wheat.
“We stayed here because
we were afraid we might get
the same storm,” Miller said.
Their son went out to the
barn, and Miller called the
Morrow County Sheriff and
told him not to worry about
saving the structure.
“We told him, don’t
worry about the old barn,
but to concentrate on the
others,” Miller said.
At fi rst, it looked like the
barn would be safe — but
the next thing they knew, it
was on fi re.
Miller said two trucks
were inside the barn, a 1957
and a 1951, both used by
her father for farming many
years ago.
“Everything was a total
loss,” Miller said. “Nothing
monetarily, but it was sad
when we went up there
Saturday and took pictures.
My dad loved that place —
he farmed it for my mother.”
Miller said she was
relieved everyone was safe,
and appreciated all the help
from the neighbors and local
fi re departments.
Others will miss the barn
as well, Miller said. She
remembered all the calls
she’d gotten from people
asking to take pictures in front
of the barn and windmill,
which she estimated were
more than 100 years old.
“It’s kind of nostalgic,”
she said. “It had been kind of
a landmark on the Heppner-
Condon Highway.”
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