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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2017)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Thursday, September 7, 2017 Wildfire scars beloved Columbia Gorge BRIEFLY Equipment stolen from crews fighting Oregon wildfire By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press BROOKINGS (AP) — A thief made away with thousands of dollars of firefighting equipment taken from trucks parked at a Brookings high school. The Eugene Register-Guard reports the equip- ment was taken off two Lane County Task Force fire rigs that parked at the school Friday night after making a more than 230-mile drive to assist in fighting the Chetco Bar Fire in southwestern Oregon. Lane County Fire Defense Board Chief Chad Minter says they discovered the trucks were ransacked early Saturday morning. The missing items included an oxygen tank, a firefighter’s bag, a flat-headed ax and a firefighter’s jacket. A couple of items, including the oxygen tank, were found discarded nearby. The firefighters filed a police report, and Minter says he is unaware of any arrests for the crime. TROUTDALE — A fast- moving wildfire chewing through Oregon’s forestland is threatening more than homes and people. It’s also devouring the heart of the state’s nature- loving identity. As flames erupted this week in the Columbia Gorge, horrified Oregonians mourned the devastation of beloved day trails, swimming holes and dozens of crystalline waterfalls that are all an easy day trip from Portland. The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area attracts more than 3 million tourists a year and holds North America’s largest concentration of water- falls — including 77 named cascades. It is also home to 800 wildflower species, including 16 found nowhere else in the world. The gorge’s winding trails are lush with ferns, hidden pocket waterfalls and stunning vistas of the mighty Columbia River. They are most cherished by Oregonians, who feel a deep connection to an area that’s often referred to as Oregon’s “crown jewel.” As the flames spread through the gorge’s forests at an alarming rate, social media lit up with posts recalling favorite hikes, memories of gorge weddings and worries about what will remain when the smoke clears. “Everybody has this visceral attachment to what they care about there and that all feels like it’s slipping through our fingers,” said Kevin Gorman, executive director of Friends of the Columbia Gorge. “We literally are waiting until the smoke clears to go out and assess what’s there, what we’ve lost and then try to move on from there.” On Wednesday, two fires merged to form a blaze of more than 50 square miles. The fire has closed a 30-mile stretch of nearby Interstate 84 and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes on the far eastern fringes of Portland’s metropolitan area. Authorities say the fire was started by a 15-year-old boy who tossed fireworks into the woods. Scorching heat, bone-dry vegetation and winds of 30 to 40 mph pushed the flames 13 miles in 16 hours at one point — an almost unprecedented Nike to lay off 490 Oregon workers by end of September PORTLAND (AP) — Nike officials say the company will lay 490 Oregon workers by the end of the month. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the layoffs are part of the 2 percent of the workforce Nike plans to eliminate worldwide. In July, the Nike laid off 255 Oregon workers, and plans to cut another 490 local jobs by Sept. 30 for a total of 745 jobs lost in the state. News of the layoffs comes months after Nike announced a broad restructuring of the footwear manufacturing company. Nike is the largest company headquartered in Oregon near Beaverton. It employs 74,000 people worldwide. Terry Richard/The Oregonian via AP, file In an April 2015 file photo, hikers move along a ridge at Munra Point, an airy perch at 1,740 feet in elevation overlooking the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Bonneville Dam near Cascade Locks. The fast-moving wildfire chewing through Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge is threatening more than homes and people. It’s also devouring the heart of the state’s nature-loving identity. Tristan Fortsch/KATU-TV via AP This Monday photo provided by KATU-TV shows the Ea- gle Creek wildfire as seen from Stevenson Wash., across the Columbia River, burning in the Columbia River Gorge above Cascade Locks. rate of fire spread, authorities said. Embers from the blaze also were carried by winds across the Columbia River and started a spot fire on the opposite bank in Washington state. On the Oregon side, the flames had some of the gorge’s most treasured spots in its crosshairs. After an all-night battle, fire crews saved the historic Multnomah Lodge, a historic 92-year-old information center, bar and restaurant at the base of Multnomah Falls. That waterfall, visible and easily accessible from Interstate 84, alone attracts more than 2 million visitors a year from around the world. A low bridge allows easy viewing and a steep one-mile hike allows visitors to peer down 620 feet from just above its drop-off while taking in a panoramic view of the Columbia River and Wash- ington state on the far bank. Oneonta Falls, famous for a hike that includes wading in waist-deep water through a steep-walled canyon, was also endangered. Photos posted on Twitter show a popular pedestrian tunnel near the gorge ringed with flames. The extent of damage there and the fate of other waterfalls with wistful names — Bridal Veil, Horsetail Falls and Ponytail Falls among them — was still uncertain. The U-shaped canyon that holds the Columbia River is unique in its geology and contains microclimates nurtured by up to 70 inches of rain annually, said Gorman. But this summer has been unusually dry and extremely hot, creating an opportunity for a large fire to take hold in what is usually a lush forest, he said. The gorge has burned before — and will likely burn again. In 1902, a massive wildfire scorched the same area and also jumped the river to the Washington side. And in 1991, flames crept to within a few yards of the same lodge that fire crews battled to save this week. The scars from that blaze were still visible amid the forest before this year’s fire started, said Gorman. Authorities sought to reas- sure the public even as they lamented the devastation. Lt. Damon Simmons, a spokesman with the Oregon Fire Marshal, on Wednesday drove the historic Columbia River Highway, a winding, two-lane road that parallels the river on the Oregon side and offers majestic viewpoints from the gorge’s steep cliffs. He came back with a hopeful message. “The gorge still looks like the gorge,” he said. “It’s not a wasteland. It’s not a blackened, destroyed no man’s land.” Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and Dec. 25, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) — Idaho officials plan to replace a 6-ton potato replica used for advertising with one that glows in the dark. Idaho Potato Commission officials say it will be lighter and leaner than the Great Big Idaho Potato Truck’s current Russet Burbank potato replica, the Capital Press reported. The potato truck is used to promote the Idaho brand and has travelled over 148,000 miles and toured through 7,200 cities in six years. By making the new model two feet narrower, the potato truck will be able to operate without wide-load restrictions, permitting it to drive at night so the glow-in-the-dark spud can shine during nighttime parades, Idaho Potato Commis- sion President and CEO Frank Muir said. Officials intend to make the new model look almost identical to the current one and keep it at 27 feet long. “The potato will look like it magically is glowing, and people will absolutely love it,” Muir said, while announcing the plans during the Idaho Grower Shippers Association’s 89th Annual Convention last month. Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. 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Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com ADVERTISING Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — Idaho officials designing giant, glow-in-the-dark potato Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY SATURDAY FRIDAY Hazy sunshine and smoky Hazy sunshine and smoky 89° 65° 87° 62° Hazy sunshine SUNDAY MONDAY Pleasant with partial sunshine Mostly sunny PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 83° 58° 81° 54° 84° 59° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 90° 64° 91° 68° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 86° 82° 102° (1955) 57° 53° 34° (1898) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.00" 0.09" 11.37" 7.69" 8.47" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 86° 82° 99° (2003) 56° 52° 39° (1961) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.00" 0.00" 0.07" 6.65" 5.40" 6.19" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Last New Sep 12 Sep 19 First Sep 27 84° 50° 86° 52° Seattle 79/63 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 86° 61° 6:24 a.m. 7:22 p.m. 8:24 p.m. 7:48 a.m. Full Oct 5 Today Spokane Wenatchee 92/63 91/68 Tacoma Moses 78/60 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 93/64 91/59 69/60 77/58 93/63 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 78/62 89/67 Lewiston 92/67 Astoria 96/64 69/57 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 81/63 Pendleton 90/58 The Dalles 91/68 89/65 86/67 La Grande Salem 88/58 82/61 Albany Corvallis 82/60 81/59 John Day 88/61 Ontario Eugene Bend 92/61 79/58 82/55 Caldwell Burns 92/63 86/49 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 69 91 82 66 86 90 79 88 91 88 76 88 86 76 66 65 92 90 89 81 83 82 92 86 82 89 93 Lo 57 54 55 58 49 58 58 64 68 61 47 58 55 61 56 57 61 64 65 63 49 61 63 56 62 67 63 W c pc pc t pc pc pc pc pc pc t pc pc t c c pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Fri. Hi 68 87 80 70 85 84 77 85 90 85 79 84 82 79 65 67 91 91 87 77 81 79 85 83 77 87 89 Lo 52 50 52 57 48 56 53 60 64 55 46 52 50 58 51 52 60 55 62 56 47 56 59 51 55 65 55 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W c pc pc c pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc c c pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 90 89 82 67 67 62 67 78 80 68 83 Lo 64 81 65 58 57 50 55 65 65 51 71 W s sh s pc pc sh pc t pc s sh Fri. Hi 89 89 89 63 67 59 66 78 82 67 80 Lo 68 80 69 51 57 48 53 62 66 48 69 W s c s r pc sh c pc pc pc sh WINDS Medford 76/61 (in mph) Klamath Falls 76/47 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Eastern Washington: Smoky today with hazy sunshine. Hazy tonight. A passing shower in the north tomorrow. Cascades: A shower or thunderstorm around today; not as warm in the south. Northern California: A couple of showers at the coast today; a thunderstorm elsewhere. Friday WSW 8-16 WSW 7-14 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: Fog during the morning; otherwise, mostly cloudy today. A stray shower. Eastern and Central Oregon: Hazy sun and smoky today. A thunderstorm in spots; not as hot in central parts. Western Washington: Clouds and sun today. Fog at the coast; a thunderstorm in spots across the south. Today WSW 6-12 W 6-12 1 3 5 5 3 1 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Today will be a cool, cloudy and dreary day in the Northeast. Severe storms could fire in Northern California and Oregon. The interior Northwest will stay hot, as dry and cool air spills into the South. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 109° in Palm Springs, Calif. Low 27° in West Yellowstone, Mont. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 87 76 75 73 87 76 93 76 82 69 68 67 86 86 65 92 62 80 88 85 71 84 76 100 78 85 Lo 62 56 59 53 54 55 66 58 62 51 52 53 64 57 50 68 41 49 75 62 52 70 58 78 56 67 W s s pc pc s s pc r pc s pc sh s s sh s pc s pc s pc pc s s s pc Fri. Hi 88 79 75 74 89 79 90 74 83 72 67 66 87 88 65 93 63 74 87 86 76 85 81 92 81 82 Lo 63 60 55 52 62 59 63 56 64 50 50 52 65 58 47 67 41 54 75 63 50 71 59 72 59 65 Today W pc s s s s s pc pc s pc pc sh s pc c s c s sh s pc s s pc s pc Hi Louisville 72 Memphis 76 Miami 93 Milwaukee 66 Minneapolis 72 Nashville 74 New Orleans 83 New York City 74 Oklahoma City 83 Omaha 78 Philadelphia 74 Phoenix 106 Portland, ME 74 Providence 76 Raleigh 76 Rapid City 84 Reno 85 Sacramento 79 St. Louis 76 Salt Lake City 94 San Diego 79 San Francisco 75 Seattle 79 Tucson 99 Washington, DC 75 Wichita 86 Lo 54 57 81 51 51 53 67 58 59 56 57 83 53 55 54 49 56 59 56 70 69 62 63 74 58 61 W s s t pc pc s s pc s s pc s r r s s s s s s pc pc pc s pc s Fri. Hi 77 80 93 64 69 78 84 73 83 84 74 99 72 75 78 85 84 86 83 91 76 73 74 95 76 86 Lo 54 61 81 52 53 55 68 56 61 62 55 80 51 53 56 56 56 60 58 68 68 61 55 72 58 61 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc s pc pc s s s pc s pc pc pc pc pc s pc pc pc s t pc pc c t pc s
