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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Tuesday, August 27, 2019 Granite Gulch Fire mainly quiet ite Gulch Fire, officials have called in helicopters on sev- eral days to drop water on parts of the fire to slow its spread, mainly to the west. Forest Service offi- cials said that in addition to reducing the fuel load on the forest floor, the fire has improved habitat for whitebark pine trees, a spe- cies that mainly grows only above 7,000 feet elevation. Whitebark pines can be crowded out by subalpine fir trees, and the fire has scorched stands of the firs. Blaze could spread this week with hotter weather expected By JAYSON JACOBY EO Media Group BAKER CITY — The Granite Gulch Fire was rel- atively tranquil over the weekend, but with hot, dry and potentially windy weather predicted over the next several days, the blaze in the Eagle Cap Wilder- ness could begin to spread again as it did at times last week. The fire, started by light- ning July 14 in Granite Gulch north of the Minam River, moved “very slowly” Saturday and Sunday, said Larisa Bogardus, public affairs officer for the Gran- ite Gulch Fire. “It was mainly smolder- ing, burning the surface debris, which is ideal,” Bog- ardus said this morning. Fire officials anticipated the fire, fanned by strong winds, could produce a col- umn of smoke during the weekend. The fire spawned two towering smoke plumes, visible throughout North- eastern Oregon, on Aug. 20 when it burned into thick- 204 Cow Fire U.S. Forest Service Photo Flames have mainly stayed on the ground in many places of the Granite Gulch Fire. ets in the Wild Sheep Creek drainage. But rain on slowed the fire on the evening of Aug. 21. The fire’s perimeter is about 4,734 acres, but inside that area the flames have stayed on the ground, rather than burning into the crowns of trees, over much of the acreage, Forest Service offi- cials said. “You couldn’t plan a bet- ter burn in mid-elevation mixed conifer,” said Nathan Goodrich, fire management officer for the Eagle Cap Forecast for Pendleton Area Ranger District. “Every- thing’s cleaning up really nicely with very low levels of mortality in the overstory.” Allowing lightning fires to perform their natural role in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon’s largest at 365,000 acres, is the goal of a Forest Union County asks state to address B2H issues TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Very warm with plenty of sun Very hot with plenty of sunshine Partly sunny, a shower; warm Sunny and very warm Sunny and remaining very warm By DICK MASON EO Media Group 90° 60° 96° 70° 92° 63° LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners is request- ing the state address six issues in the event the pro- posed Boardman to Hem- ingway transmission line is approved despite the coun- ty’s objections. The construction of the proposed B2H proj- ect through Union County could make the county more vulnerable to wild- fires, road damage, the spread of noxious weeds and the loss of views- heds, according to a let- ter submitted by the board of commissioners to Kel- len Tardaewether, a senior siting analyst for the Ore- gon Department of Energy, which has a big influence on determining the fate of the B2H transmission line in Oregon. The Boardman to Hem- ingway transmission line would run for 300 miles PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 91° 65° 93° 65° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 93° 55° 98° 69° 94° 66° 95° 67° 96° 68° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 84/58 85/53 90/55 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 91/63 Lewiston 90/56 93/55 Astoria 82/57 Pullman Yakima 90/54 86/54 91/59 Portland Hermiston 97/63 The Dalles 93/55 Salem Corvallis 98/58 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 87/51 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 100/58 89/56 91/59 Ontario 91/53 Caldwell Burns 85° 47° 85° 55° 103° (1958) 41° (1993) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 98/58 Boardman Pendleton Medford 106/67 0.00" 0.05" 0.17" 4.61" 5.13" 6.09" WINDS (in mph) 89/50 90/44 0.00" 0.12" 0.35" 9.73" 6.49" 8.30" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 85/50 99/59 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 90/60 94/59 81° 49° 85° 55° 105° (1934) 36° (1910) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 84/55 Aberdeen 84/56 87/62 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 84/62 Today Wed. NE 4-8 NNE 4-8 WSW 3-6 NW 4-8 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 94/54 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New 6:10 a.m. 7:43 p.m. 2:27 a.m. 6:16 p.m. First Full Service policy in place for more than 25 years. That policy allows the agency to use a variety of tactics to manage lightning fires, rather than trying to put them out as quickly as possible. In the case of the Gran- This blaze, started by lightning on Aug. 9, has burned 2,371 acres on the Malheur National Forest in the extreme southwest- ern corner of Baker County, about 15 miles southeast of Prairie City. Firefighters are building control lines taking advan- tage of roads and of the fire scars from blazes that burned in 1993 and 1998. Crews have also been lighting fuel inside the lines, with a goal of reduc- ing the amount of combus- tible material between the control lines and the areas already burned. A community meeting is scheduled for Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Prairie City Senior Center. from Boardman to the Hemingway substation in Southwest Idaho. The line would be built by Idaho Power, which is leading the B2H project with major assistance from the Bonne- ville Power Administration and PacifiCorp. It has been contended that the county will not benefit from the transmission line yet will be severely impacted by its construction and presence. Major requests made in the Union County Com- missioners’ letter, which was approved and signed by Commissioners Paul Anderes, Donna Beverage and Matt Scarfo, include requiring that the firm doing the B2H work, likely Idaho Power, contract with a Union County wildland firefighting company that meets Oregon Department of Forestry or U.S. Forest Service qualification stan- dards. The commissioners’ request calls for the wild- land firefighting company to have an engine and crew on-site during all construc- tion activities outside of multi-use areas. Multi-use areas are gravel lay down yards where heavy equip- ment is kept at work sites while a project is under- way, Beverage said. Having wildland fire- fighters on hand would be critical, the letter says, because of the nature of the county’s topography and the risks posed by con- struction work. “Union County is com- prised of terrain that can be challenging to reach by emergency vehicles and during the summer months is usually under a high industrial fire precaution level. Since the building of a new 500kv high voltage transmission line in Union County is not a normal activity or occurrence, we feel there could be a greater potential for wildland fires because of the increased construction activity level in our county,” the com- missioners wrote. Last NATIONAL EXTREMES BRIEFLY Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 113° in Midland, Texas Low 24° in Stanley, Idaho Aug 30 Sep 5 Sep 13 Sep 21 NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Baker woman arrested on multiple charges BAKER CITY — Police arrested a Baker City woman on charges of arson, burglary and reckless burning Friday morning. Sara Camille Waldrop, 34, who police describe as a transient, was taken into cus- tody early Friday morning, according to the Baker City Herald. Baker City Police Chief Ray Duman said Waldrop first entered a carport and set fire to a backpack at the rear of the carport near the door leading to the house. Wal- drop later traveled to another residence and lit a fire in grass on the property. The grass fire was put out by a neighbor using a garden hose. The Baker City Fire Department was called out and city, county and state officers also responded. Waldrop remains in custody at the Baker County Jail on charges of first-de- gree arson and first-degree burglary, both Class A felonies; second-degree arson, a Class C felon; and reckless burning, a Class A misdemeanor. Hiker dies in fall at Oregon state park PORTLAND — Authorities in Oregon say a male hiker died after falling 100 feet at Smith Rock State Park. KOIN-TV reported the male fell while making his way down a climbers’ path toward the northeast Lower Gorge Saturday. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s office says hiker was pronounced dead at the scene. — EO Media Group and Associated Press Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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