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East Oregonian
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Patient treated for burns
from minor explosion
East Oregonian
Umatilla County Fire
District 1 and the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
responded Tuesday after-
noon to a medical call for
burns from an explosion,
which had happened several
hours earlier. The patient,
who was at a home on
North Townsent Road, was
a 21 year-old male who was
transported to the hospital
for burns, which he had
received around 1 or 2 a.m.
on Tuesday.
UCFD Battalion Chief
Jimmy Davis said he didn’t
know the exact cause of the
“so-called explosion,” but
that crews thought it had
something to do with a paint
can. The patient was trans-
ported to the hospital for
treatment for his injuries.
STANFIELD: Approved
agreement to take Echo’s
treated wastewater
Continued from 1A
Tristan Fortsch/KATU-TV via AP
This Monday photo provided by KATU-TV shows a wildfi re burning near Cascade Locks as seen from near
Stevenson, Wash., across the Columbia River.
FIRE: Eagle Creek Fire spreads to more than 10,000 acres
Continued from 1A
Brown has already signed
an emergency confl agration
act that allows authorities to
tap state, interstate, federal
and local resources to fi ght
the fl ames and protect private
property.
Brown said the Eagle
Creek Fire has spread to
more than 10,000 acres,
compared with 170,000 acres
for the Chetco Bar wildfi re in
Southern Oregon. There are
more than 1,400 emergency
responders battling the
Chetco fi re.
Lt. Damon Simmons, a
spokesman from the Portland
Fire, Bureau said fi refi ghters
saved 58 structures in the
Dodson and Warrendale area
during the ongoing battle.
“It was really a gutsy
effort,” he explained. “They
had to work to make that
fi re move around those
structures — rather than
burning through them. It was
house by house, structure by
structure.”
Though the cause of the
Eagle Creek fi re is still under
investigation, a news release
alleges that a 15-year-old boy
from Vancouver, Wash., and
several others may be respon-
sible. They were seen playing
in the woods with fi reworks,
Genna Martin /seattlepi.com via AP
A man looks out over the Columbia River from the Bridge of the Gods, Tuesday
afternoon, as the Eagle Creek wildfi re rages nearby.
according to various media
reports.
“I would expect that they
be held fully accountable
for what has happened,”
Brown said when pressed by
reporters.
The Union Pacifi c rail
line traveling through the
Columbia River Gorge has
been closed, as has Interstate
84 between Troutdale and
Hood River.
Sgt. Bryan White, a
Multnomah County Sheriff’s
Offi ce information offi cer,
asked the public to please stay
away from affected areas.
“They’re curious. They’re
taking pictures. They’re
taking videos. I cannot
emphasize enough how
dangerous that is,” he said.
Brown announced at the
press conference that she had
called up an additional 250
National Guard troops, for a
total of more than 600. Those
men and women are serving
in support capacity during
clean-up efforts, not as fi rst-
line fi refi ghters.
———
Zane Sparling is a reporter
for Pamplin Media Group’s
Gresham Outlook.
SMOKE: Pendleton High School canceled outdoor athletics
Continued from 1A
press releases Tuesday,
urging the public to stay
indoors.
“People with chronic
diseases should check with
their health care provider
before wearing a mask,” the
department’s press release
states. “People with asthma,
lung and heart disease, or
have had a stroke should
check with their health care
provider for advice about
leaving the area. Anyone
with shortness of breath,
wheezing,
chest
pain,
heart palpitations, extreme
fatigue, or diffi culty moving
or speaking should call their
health care provider or call
911.”
Jim Setzer, the county’s
health director, had a
two-word piece of advice:
“Be prudent.”
Besides staying indoors,
Setzer advised Umatilla
County residents to cool
their houses with air condi-
tioning instead of opening a
window, if possible.
The press release further
advises residents to set their
air conditioning to recircu-
late and close off air intakes.
The county also suggests
using indoor air cleaners
with HEPA fi lters and an
N-95 respirator mask if
residents need to be outside.
If someone starts to feel
any ill effects from being
outside, Setzer suggested
they take a seat to see if it
subsides and seek medical
attention if it doesn’t.
According to the press
release, hospitalizations for
lung disease increase by
50 percent during smoky
conditions.
Peter
Brewer,
who
coordinates wildfi re smoke
responses for DEQ, said
Umatilla County has been
getting smoke from fi res in
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A group of fi fth graders take part in indoor activities
Tuesday at Washington Elementary School in Pend-
leton. Due to poor air quality from wildfi re smoke,
outdoor activities were canceled by the district.
Idaho and Montana, and last
week from central Oregon,
but this week’s spike was
likely tied to the Eagle Creek
fi re in the Columbia Gorge.
“You’re kind of getting
hit from all around,” he said.
He said that many of
the government websites
featuring air quality and
weather information have
been crashing from the high-
er-than-usual traffi c, but one
useful resource is oregon-
smoke.blogspot.com, which
combines information on
smoke in Oregon from many
government sources.
St. Anthony Hospital
spokesman Larry Blanc said
he spoke with Emergency
Department Manager Steve
Hardin,
who
reported
that the hospital hasn’t
experienced an uptick in
emergency room visits so
far. Blanc said the hospital
is hoping people heed
warnings to stay indoors and
keep themselves out of the
emergency room.
Smoky skies throughout
the area caused local schools
to shift some of their outdoor
activities indoors Tuesday.
Pendleton High School
canceled outdoor athletics,
including boys and girls
soccer games against La
Grande, and either moved
practices indoors or canceled
them altogether. Umatilla
High School also canceled
its scheduled soccer games
against Baker.
Pendleton School District
Superintendent
Chris
Fritsch said he drove to a
few schools around noon to
take stock of the conditions,
with the district making the
decision to move recess
indoors and cancel outdoor
sports activities in the early
afternoon.
Fritsch said Pendleton
schools have the gym
capacity to continue holding
recess indoors and doesn’t
anticipate any other school
operations altered as a result
of the smoke.
The district will continue
to monitor air quality reports
and conditions to assess
when students can return
outdoors.
Many local schools,
including
Stanfi eld,
Umatilla, and Hermiston,
moved recess indoors.
Hermiston
School
District offi cials monitored
air
quality
conditions
throughout the day, and
decided Tuesday morning
to move recess inside.
Some sporting events were
canceled, including boys
and girls soccer games
in Hillsboro. All outdoor
practices were also moved
indoors or canceled, and
district offi cials said they
would continue monitoring
the smoke and make adjust-
ments as necessary.
For more information on
air quality, visit www.deq.
state.or.us.
Route work
pays for my
children’s
activities.
“There’s more than one
way to be a nuisance,” Sue
Whelan said.
Four residents present
at the meeting still voiced
complaints and questions,
however, about the smell
and why the city had not
shut down the plant after
voting in July to order it to
“cease and desist.” Coun-
cilor Jason Sperr said after
that vote the council had
been informed by the city
attorney that an attempt to
go that route would mean a
years-long process in court
and possible counter-suits
by the company.
Larsen said an update
about
progress
the
company was making
on abating the smell was
supposed to go in resi-
dents’ latest utility bill but
the company that handles
mailing the bills mistak-
enly did not insert it. The
newsletters are available
online, at city hall and at
the library.
———
On Tuesday the council
voted to approve an agree-
ment with the city of Echo
to take the city’s treated
wastewater if they could
come up with the funds to
pipe it to Stanfi eld. Echo
has long been told by the
Department of Environ-
mental Quality that it must
work toward sending the
recycled water somewhere
besides the Umatilla River.
The agreement esti-
mates that Echo will pump
less than 60,000 gallons
per day during certain
times of the year, and will
pay 60 percent of the resi-
dential sewer rates since
the recycled water does
not have to go through the
same level of treatment as
raw sewage.
Stanfi eld public works
director Scott Morris
said the city had enough
capacity to handle Echo’s
needs and he didn’t foresee
there being a problem with
the arrangement.
“I think it will be pretty
simple to coordinate with
them,” he said.
On Monday the council
also voted to allow the
proposed Oregon State
Extension taxing district
to go before Stanfi eld
voters in May. They also
brought up a citizen’s plan
to start parking a food
truck on private property
in town and told Larsen
they would like to see staff
or a committee work on
an ordinance regulating
mobile food vendors.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
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