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146th Year, No. 53
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MOUNTAIN CRASHES
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Antonio Sierra/East Oregonian
Emergency crews respond to the scene of a mass crash involving more than 170 vehicles Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, on Interstate 84 about 21 miles east of Pendleton.
Wrecks stretched 1.75 miles along
Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon,
involved more than 170 vehicles
By ANDREW CUTLER, DICK
MASON, ERICK PETERSON,
ANTONIO SIERRA, ALEX
WITTWER AND PHIL WRIGHT
EO Media Group
ENDLETON — The Hyatt family
on Monday, Feb. 21, was heading
west on Interstate 84, bound for
their home in Yelm, Washington,
when they became involved in one
of the biggest traffi c smash-ups in
Eastern Oregon in years.
Marjorie, a kindergarten assistant, her
husband, Carter Hyatt, a vocational ther-
apist, and their son, Jacob, a sophomore in
P
high school, were returning from a trip to
Utah, where they were a part of their daugh-
ter’s engagement, including picking out her
dress and ring.
“We had a wonderful weekend,” Carter
said.
On the way back in their Nissan Path-
fi nder, they stopped in Boise to spend the
night of Feb. 20 with Jacob’s brother, then
headed out the morning of Feb. 21 for the
fi nal leg of the trek home.
Marjorie was asleep, Jacob was in the
backseat watching one of “The Lord of the
Rings” movies and Carter was driving. He
See Crashes, Page A8
Carter Hyatt/Contributed Photo
This Nissan Pathfi nder belonging to the Hyatt family of Yelm, Washington, crashed
Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, into the back of this Amazon trailer on Interstate 84 about 21
miles east of Pendleton. The crash was part of a series of wrecks that stretched almost 2
miles on the westbound side. The Hyatts were unharmed in the crash.
Firefi ghters in Hermiston quell blaze of the decade
By ERICK PETERSON,
ANDREW CUTLER, BEN
LONERGAN, ANTONIO
SIERRA AND PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Dozens of
fi refi ghters from multiple agencies
worked Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 22, to
quell a fi erce blaze at Shearer’s Foods
off Highway 207 in Hermiston.
Employees of Shearer’s Foods
called 911 at 12:51 p.m., Tuesday, Feb.
22, according to the Umatilla County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce, and reported a boiler
explosion with possible injuries.
Umatilla County Fire District No. 1,
Hermiston, was the fi rst fi re depart-
ment on the scene.
“This was a big fi re for us,” Fire
District No. 1 Chief Scott Stanton said.
“Probably haven’t had a fi re this size
in the last decade.”
A total of 60 fi refi ghters from Fire
District No. 1 and eight other agencies
responded.
The blaze destroyed a warehouse
and whatever was inside, Stanton said,
but crews were able to keep the fi re
from spreading.
Having enough water was the
primary challenge, he explained. The
site had one fi re hydrant, and the water
tenders at the scene ran low.
“We had too much fi re load and not
enough water tenders to take care of
that like we should,” he said.
But given the size of this fi re, he
added, maybe even 30 water tenders
would not have been enough.
See Blaze, Page A8
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Numerous fi re agencies work Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, to extinguish the blaze
ripping through a Shearer’s Foods building, Hermiston.