NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, June 10, 2021
WALLOWA COUNTY
Joseph Canyon and Dry Creek fires dying down
Cooler weather, precipitation aid mopping up
of nearly 10,000 acres of burned ground
1,500-acre fire burning on the
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest, was 50% contained as of
June 8.
Lightning in the early morn-
ing of June 4 sparke the two fires
in the far northeastern corner
of Wallowa County. Due to the
rugged, remote, steep terrain
and dry fuels creating severe
fire behavior, helicopters and
air tankers battled the fire, with
the support of smokejumpers,
helicopter rappel firefighters
and elite ground crews called
hotshots flown into the fire.
High winds hampered air
attacks on June 5 and spread
the fires far from their ignition
points. But by June 6, tempera-
tures decreased and the humidity
came up, aiding efforts to cool
down hot spots and along the
perimeter of the fires.
Weather wreaked havoc and
aided to the early demise of
the fires. Between 0.25 and 0.4
inches of rain was predicted for
the fire locations over June 9 and
June 10. The good news was the
rain would come in showers and
not heavy downpours, reducing
the threat of slides and washouts.
Humidity recovery was fore-
casted to be near 48% at ridge
tops with 5-10 mph winds
coming from the north and north-
By KATY NESBITT
For the East Oregonian
ENTERPRISE — The early
beginning of Oregon’s wild-
fire season was brief, but spec-
tacular. Just one day after the
Interagency Team 7 overhead
team assumed command of the
Joseph Canyon and Dry Creek
fires, crews and air support are
being released.
The release of the Type 1 heli-
copters and most of the crews
was announced at Team 7’s Tues-
day, June 8, planning meeting at
Wallowa County Fairgrounds’
Cloverleaf Hall, Enterprise,
indicating the fire was winding
down.
The Joseph Canyon fire was
20% contained as of June 8.
The latest mapping of the fire
revealed it burned much more
than previously measured —
7,575 acres primarily on private
and Nez Perce Tribe land.
Two hotshot crews worked
along the eastern flank of the fire
while the western edge of the fire
moved toward monitoring status.
The eastern and northwestern
flanks of the fire are contained.
The southern edge of the fire
continues to be a challenge due
to the rugged terrain.
The Dr y Creek Fire, a
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
MONDAY
SUNDAY
SATURDAY
FRIDAY
TODAY
Jana Peterson/Oregon Department of Forestry
The Joseph Canyon Fire viewed from the east side of Cottonwood Creek
late Saturday, June 5, 2021.
Man pleads guilty to using COVID-19
relief loan for personal purposes
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
Sunshine and
patchy clouds
Partly sunny and
pleasant
Some sun, then
turning cloudy
Partly sunny;
winds subsiding
Mostly sunny
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
85° 58°
80° 56°
74° 53°
71° 46°
82° 59°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
89° 60°
84° 60°
77° 57°
75° 48°
OREGON FORECAST
85° 61°
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
63/51
65/42
74/50
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
71/52
Lewiston
64/52
78/53
Astoria
62/51
Pullman
Yakima 78/51
64/47
73/50
Portland
Hermiston
68/54
The Dalles 75/48
Salem
Corvallis
65/47
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
66/48
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
69/49
66/44
65/46
Ontario
66/49
Caldwell
Burns
71°
54°
78°
52°
98° (2015) 41° (2019)
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
67/49
0.00"
0.00"
0.23"
1.70"
1.43"
5.34"
WINDS (in mph)
62/50
64/42
0.00"
Trace
0.50"
4.03"
7.93"
7.01"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 62/44
68/51
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
71/46
73/54
68°
54°
76°
51°
103° (1918) 39° (1999)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
66/48
Aberdeen
69/47
72/50
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
65/53
Today
Fri.
Boardman WSW 10-20
Pendleton
W 10-20
Medford
71/52
WSW 6-12
WNW 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
64/43
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:06 a.m.
8:44 p.m.
5:09 a.m.
9:24 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
June 10
June 17
June 24
July 1
NATIONAL EXTREMES
west. Afternoon and evening
gusts could be up to 25 mph and
a slight chance of lightning.
The rain and fog were listed
as potential factors that could
hamper mopping up the fire with
helicopter water drops, but fire
activity was predicted to dimin-
ish even further.
Team 7 Section Chief John
Larson said remaining crews and
air support would work on secur-
ing the fire line and mopping up
where possible in the coming
days.
Crucial to the success of
putting out the fire and fire-
fighter safety in canyon coun-
try were “human repeaters,” fire
crew members who could receive
radio communication and deliver
messages to those in areas where
direct communications were
hampered by steep cliffs and
deep canyons.
Larson said now that the fire
was in mop-up mode, “human
repeaters” and lookouts would
not be necessary as communi-
cations would be conducted in
areas easier to reach by radio.
Spike camps where crews
were camped on the fire line
were scheduled for clean up with
equipment and trash flown out
via helicopter.
The Nez Perce Tribe has
temporarily closed the Precious
Lands Wildlife Management
Area within the Joseph Canyon
Fire footprint.
P ORT L A N D — A
32-year-old Baker City man
pleaded guilty Tuesday, June
8, for receiving a $145,200
federal COVID-19 relief
loan on behalf of a fictitious
company and then using the
money for personal purposes,
including buying a $49,000
car, federal officials said.
Jeremy Michael Clawson
pleaded guilty to one count
of theft of public money,
according to a press release
from the U.S. Attorney’s
Office in Portland.
Theft of public money is
punishable by up to 10 years
in prison, a $250,000 fine,
and three years’ supervised
release. With Clawson’s
continued acceptance of
responsibility, the U.S. Attor-
ney’s Office will recommend
a 24-month prison sentence
followed by three years’
supervised release, according
to the press release. Clawson
will be sentenced on Sept. 13,
2021.
As part of the plea agree-
ment, Clawson agreed to pay
$125,200 in restitution to the
U.S. Treasury.
Acting U.S. Attorney
Scott Erik Asphaug of the
District of Oregon made the
announcement.
Clawson is serving a
19-month sentence at the
Snake River Correctional
Institution, Ontario, after
pleading guilty Sept. 29,
2020, in Baker County
Circuit Court to attempting
to elude a police officer and
driving under the influence of
intoxicants on Aug. 21, 2020.
His earliest release date on
that conviction is Dec. 17,
2021, according to Oregon
Department of Corrections
records.
Clawson, who was driving
the 2016 Dodge Challenger
he bought with part of the
federal loan, failed to stop
and drove south, running
through two stop signs.
He had been arrested
for driving under the influ-
ence three times in the past
three years, in July 2017 and
August 2019 in Malheur
County, and in March 2018
in Baker County.
Clawson’s arrest happened
10 days after he deposited
$145,200 from a federal loan
into an account at Umpqua
Bank that Clawson and his
girlfriend opened.
Clawson received the
Economic Injury Disas-
ter Loan through the Small
Business Administration,
according to a press release
from the U.S. Attorney Billy
J. Williams.
That was one of the finan-
cial aid programs included
in the CARES Act that
Congress passed in late
March 2020.
According to court docu-
ments, shortly after depos-
iting the $145,200, Clawson
made multiple large cash
withdrawals at the drive-thru
window of the Umpqua Bank
branch in Baker City.
On Aug. 17 he received a
$49,905 cashier’s check from
the bank to buy the Dodge
Challenger.
Umpqua Bank investiga-
tors noted the unusual activ-
ity on Clawson’s account and
reported it to the SBA.
Federal agents seized
the Dodge Challenger and
approximately $50,000 in
cash derived from the fraud-
ulent EIDL pursuant to
seizure warrants issued by
the federal court and volun-
tary abandonment of funds
in third parties’ possession.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 108° in Presidio, Texas Low 27° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
IN BRIEF
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Walla Walla man dies
in moped crash June 6
WALLA WALLA — A Walla Walla
man died the morning of Sunday, June 6,
apparently due to head injuries while he was
delivering Walla Walla Union-Bulletin news-
papers on his moped.
Danny Davis, 65, was found dead in the
300 block of Howard Street, according to law
enforcement officials.
Walla Walla County Deputy Coroner Alli-
son Barnett said early investigation efforts
lead her to believe that at about 4 a.m. the
“saddle bag” Davis was using to hold newspa-
pers got caught in the rear tire of the vehicle.
That apparently caused a sudden stop, and
Davis was thrown about 25 yards, Barnett
said, noting nothing is yet conclusive.
Davis was not wearing a helmet, which is
required by Washington state law.
The Walla Walla Police Department noti-
fied the next of kin.
Mike Cibart, director of operations at the
Union-Bulletin, said the death is a blow to all.
“Danny has been integral to us in deliv-
ering for the last 10 years,” Cibart said. “He
started by helping another carrier and then
took his own routes in 2017. This loss is
devastating.”
Newspaper carriers are independent
contractors, but the U-B stresses the impor-
tance of safety with anyone on a route.
An autopsy was scheduled for June 8,
Barnett said.
— Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
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
ice
50s
60s
cold front
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