NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Forest Service officials scramble to find fire lookout
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — Joel McCraw
needed to find someone willing to
spend the summer atop a mountain
that has a three-state view but is far
out of sight of any coffee shop or
grocery store.
His task wasn’t as daunting as it
might sound, thanks in part to Face-
book.
The job is fire lookout on Mount
Ireland. The 8,346-foot peak is the
apex of a granitic shoulder that
extends several miles west from the
spine of the Elkhorn Mountains and
forms the divide between the Powder
River and North Fork John Day
River basins as well as the boundary
between Baker and Grant counties.
Mount Ireland is one of more than
a dozen prominences in Northeast-
ern Oregon where the traditional
method of finding wildfires — a
person working inside a tiny build-
ing on a high point, looking for the
telltale tendril of smoke — persists.
Several decades ago there were
more than 50 lookouts in the region
that were staffed each summer.
But over time, with surveillance
by airplane more feasible, and a
proliferation of roads making it
easier for fire crews to access remote
areas, most lookouts were closed,
and many removed.
Mount Ireland remains a valuable
cog in the fire-detection system in
part because of its elevation — if you
head west from the peak you won’t
hit a higher summit until you get to
the Cascades.
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest/Contributed Photo
The fire lookout on the summit of Mount Ireland, 8,346 feet, is staffed each summer. The lookout has a view that
extends over parts of three national forests — Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla and Malheur. The metal building
replaced a wooden structure in 1957.
Mount Ireland also overlooks the
municipal watershed for Sumpter,
where a wildfire could threaten the
city’s water supply, McCraw said.
But of course a lookout is only as
effective as the person who works
there, scanning the hundreds of
thousands of acres where a fire could
start.
And for the past two years,
McCraw has had to scramble to hire
someone for the position, which pays
about $16.90 per hour.
In 2020, Mount Ireland’s long-
But its location also is ideal,
said McCraw, the fire management
officer for the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest’s Whitman District.
From Mount Ireland’s summit,
the lookout can see swathes of the
Wallowa-Whitman as well as parts
of its neighboring national forests,
the Umatilla and Malheur, McCraw
said. On especially clear days the
views extend east into Idaho and
north into Washington.
“It’s a pretty critical one,”
McCraw said.
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Mostly cloudy and
cooler
Sunny, pleasant
and warmer
Plenty of sunshine
Sunny and very
warm
Breezy in the a.m.;
mostly sunny
68° 47°
77° 50°
74° 52°
82° 50°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
85° 52°
91° 61°
91° 58°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
90° 52°
96° 63°
96° 59°
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
64/51
63/43
75/46
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
70/51
Lewiston
66/49
76/54
Astoria
63/49
Pullman
Yakima 78/52
64/48
70/51
Portland
Hermiston
69/52
The Dalles 74/52
Salem
Corvallis
66/46
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
64/45
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
71/46
66/41
71/43
Ontario
88/55
Caldwell
Burns
88°
55°
79°
53°
102° (1933) 37° (1930)
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
66/46
0.00"
0.07"
0.33"
1.77"
1.60"
5.44"
WINDS (in mph)
88/54
76/39
0.00"
0.14"
0.72"
4.17"
8.27"
7.23"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 65/41
69/49
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
68/47
76/51
85°
54°
78°
52°
103° (1933) 37° (1930)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
65/47
Aberdeen
69/48
74/52
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
66/51
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
75/50
Wed.
WSW 8-16
WSW 8-16
WSW 4-8
NW 4-8
time lookout wasn’t able to return to
the lofty perch, but McCraw had a
fair amount of time to find a replace-
ment.
Typically the lookout doesn’t start
work at Mount Ireland until late June
or early July, when most of the snow
has melted and the wildfire risk
begins to rise.
This spring McCraw’s challenge
was even more acute. The lookout he
had enlisted for the job backed out
late in May. Someone then suggested
McCraw explain his dilemma to
associations of fire lookout enthusi-
asts, of which there are several.
The Oregon Fire Lookouts posted
about the situation on its Facebook
page on June 4.
McCraw said he has had a “very
good response” from the post, and
several candidates have been in
touch.
McCraw said on June 9 he will
be able to fill the vacancy in time to
have Mount Ireland staffed.
The person he hires will have
an interesting summer, to be sure.
Mount Ireland is pretty remote even
by lookout standards.
You can’t drive to the peak.
The roughly 3½-mile hiking trail
offsets its modest distance with a
significant elevation gain of 2,300
feet — roughly equivalent to climb-
ing the Astoria Column about 18
times.
(Except without stairs.)
The nearest settlement is Gran-
ite, about 8 miles from the trailhead.
Sumpter is about 15 miles.
McCraw said the Forest Service
each year hires a helicopter crew
to haul in water, propane and other
supplies to the lookout. A technician
checks the radio equipment on the
peak, which includes an antenna and
a repeater.
The Mount Ireland lookout
usually works until mid to late
September, depending on the
weather.
Snowstorms are possible in any
month at that elevation, but McCraw
said in some years dry weather
persists into October so the lookout
stays on duty through deer season.
Eastern Oregon University holds
drive-thru commencement
By CARLOS FUENTES
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Most
years, Eastern Oregon
University’s graduation
takes place in Community
Stadium, with extra stands
brought in to accommodate
the large number of families
and friends in attendance.
This year, there were no
extra seats brought in — in
fact, there were no seats at all.
The 2021 commencement
was a drive-thru ceremony,
meaning that each graduate
could only bring a car full of
people to watch them walk
across the stage to receive
their diploma from Univer-
sity President Thomas Insko
before returning to the car and
exiting the school.
The ceremony, which
took place on Saturday,
June 12, on the west side of
the EOU campus, was the
result of months of deliber-
ate planning, according to
Vice President of University
Advancement Tim Seydel.
“We came up with the
idea of the hybrid drive-thru,
which decreased all of the
in-person contact but still
gave students the chance to
walk across the stage,” he
said. “When we talked to
students, they were really
excited. We didn’t want to
push it off again, so doing it
in person was a big hope.”
Walking out of cars
adorned with balloons,
banners and other decora-
tions, 236 graduates crossed
the stage for more than 2½
hours, including a few 2020
graduates who had a virtual
commencement last year.
“It feels very surreal,” said
Megan Brown, who grad-
uated in 2020 with a degree
in business administration.
“Having an actual ceremony
feels so much better than
the 3-second blip last year. I
worked really hard to grad-
uate a year early, so it feels
good for my son to be here
and watch me cross the stage.”
This year’s ceremony
also included graduates
from Oregon State Univer-
sity’s Agriculture and Natu-
ral Resource Program at
EOU and Oregon Health &
Science University School of
Nursing La Grande Campus,
which usually holds a separate
commencement ceremony.
In total, 745 students
graduated from EOU this
academic year, many of
whom could not attend the
ceremony. According to
Seydel, this will likely be the
last graduation restricted in
size due to COVID-19.
“In previous years, this is
normally a huge event, there’s
thousands of people that come
to the stadium, and it’s just a
really overwhelming and fun
experience,” he said. “We’re
hoping that next year we’ll be
able to do it normally again,
with families and students in
the stadium.”
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
70/39
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:05 a.m.
8:46 p.m.
9:55 a.m.
12:19 a.m.
Full
Last
New
Baker City woman accused
of assaulting officers
June 17
June 24
July 1
July 9
BAKER CITY — Baker City Police have
accused a local woman of throwing broken
glass at officers, kicking two of them and
assaulting a corrections deputy during her
arrest on domestic assault charges last week.
Police on Wednesday, June 9, arrested
Valerie Jean Brinton, 53, and booked her
into the Baker County Jail on two counts of
fourth-degree assault (domestic violence),
two counts of assaulting a public safety offi-
cer, one count of attempted assault of a public
safety officer, two counts of reckless endan-
gering and a count of resisting arrest.
Officers talked to Mark Brinton, Valerie
Brinton’s husband, who had a bleeding cut on
his head about the size of a quarter, according
to a report by officer Mark Powell.
Mark Brinton’s head and clothing were
soaked in motor oil, according to the report,
which also noted Mark Brinton is blind.
Mark Brinton told police his wife hit him
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 114° in Needles, Calif. Low 28° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
IN BRIEF
First
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
several times with her hand and poured the
oil on him.
When officers found Valerie Brinton in
a travel trailer, she refused to come out. She
then threw a piece of glass and “another
object” at officers outside, according to
Powell’s report.
Officers pulled Brinton from the trailer
through the window, the report stated, during
which she kicked detective Shannon Regan in
the face. Officers handcuffed Brinton. They
did not shock her with a stun gun during the
arrest, police said.
Before police drove her to the Baker
County Jail, Brinton attempted to kick detec-
tive Chris Sells in the groin, according to
Powell’s report.
At the jail, Brinton continued to fight and
resist, Powell wrote in his report, includ-
ing grabbing and pinching deputy Brandon
Mastrude.
None of the officers needed medical treat-
ment, Duman said.
— EO Media Group
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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showers t-storms
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rain
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
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