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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Blaze: ‘It felt like a hurricane or a tornado came throughout the whole warehouse’
a significant impact on the
community.
“There are a lot of people
who work there,” he said. “It
will be a big challenge for
us.”
Hermiston Mayor Dave
Drotzmann called the explo-
sion and resulting fire tragic
for the Shearers family and
the Hermiston community.
“We hope for the employ-
ees that have been injured a
speedy recovery,” he said.
“For the families that are
affected, Hermiston will
work with our partners at
the county, state and federal
levels to bring resources as
soon as possible to support
them as they work through
this tragedy.”
Continued from Page A1
And there always is the
issue of response times in
Eastern Oregon given the
distances between communi-
ties. Still, firefighters subdued
the blaze in a matter of hours.
Smoke from the fire also
presented problems.
“We had to evacuate a
hotel and some houses down
wind,” he said.
Stanton also said the
hazmat team from Gresham
was coming over to monitor
water runoff.
Witnesses share their
experiences
As the fire raged, a line of
cars exited Feedville Road.
Authorities ushered the cars
away from Shearer’s Foods
and the source of the smoke.
Then, they blocked the road
to anyone wanting to enter.
Some Shearer’s employees,
though, left by foot to meet
nearby friends and loved ones
for rides.
Nick Perez, forklift oper-
ator, was one of the walkers.
As he left to meet a friend,
he spoke of the incident that
engulfed his workplace in fire.
He said he was in a differ-
ent part of the building from
the explosion.
“It felt like a hurricane or a
tornado came throughout the
whole warehouse,” he said. “It
blew dust everywhere. I saw
the roof collapse. There was
a bunch of fire. That’s when
everyone evacuated.”
When he left the building,
he could not retrieve his car
keys, which is why he said he
was meeting a friend, Cory
Harris, to give him a lift.
Harris, a warehouse
worker at Shearer’s, said he
had the day off of work and
was glad for that. He had
seen fires there before, he
said, but nothing like this.
He expressed concern for the
people who were there and
worry about what this meant
for his employment.
Art Moreno was on the
side of the road and said he
was waiting on his wife,
Jonnie Moreno, who was on
her way.
When she arrived, he met
Crashes:
Continued from Page A1
said they were going to stop at
the rest area at Deadman Pass,
near milepost 229, when he
saw jackknifed semitrailers
on the road ahead.
“I kind of swerved,” he
recalled. “I was able to miss
a couple of cars and trucks.”
But he tapped the brakes,
he said, and lost control of the
car.
The front of their Nissan
smashed into the rear driv-
er’s side of an Amazon semi-
trailer. The collision tore
apart the front of the car, and
the engine ended up on the
asphalt.
But the Nissan’s safety
features worked well, Carter
said. The air bags, seat belts
and crumple zones protected
the family.
“We’re all pretty much
fine,” Marjorie said.
The Hyatts were part of
a massive pileup crash that
began at around noon near
milepost 230, stretched 1.75
miles and involved more
than 170 vehicles, accord-
ing to press releases from the
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation and Oregon State
Police.
OSP on Feb. 22 reported
17 patients were transported
from the crash scene with
an additional two who were
transported after they arrived
at Pendleton Convention
Center, which served as a
reunification hub for people
in the crash. But despite the
crash’s scale, authorities as of
Feb. 22 have not reported any
deaths.
Interstate 84 shuts down
The site of the crash, about
20 miles east of Pendleton,
was experiencing inclement
conditions around the time of
the crashes.
The series of wrecks shut
down the westbound and east-
bound lanes of the freeway in
Eastern Oregon. Eastbound
remained closed Feb. 21
between Exit 216, 6 miles east
of Pendleton, and Exit 265 at
Not the first
emergency at
Shearer’s
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A firetruck Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, works to douse a fire at Shearer’s Foods near Highway 207 in Hermiston.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
The smoking rubble of Shearer’s Foods reflects in the layer of water from fire hoses Tuesday,
Feb. 22, 2022, in Hermiston.
her with a hug and a tarp to
warm her.
“I’m all right. I’m all right,”
she said to her husband. Then
she shared a few words about
her ordeal.
“Most of the girls were
terrified,” she said.
As for herself, she said
she was not frightened but
worried for other workers.
Some of her co-workers, she
said, were affected by smoke
and minor injuries.
73 employees
evacuated
Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 was the
primary fire agency for the
fire and set up a command
post, according to a press
release from the sheriff’s
office. The fire district also
requested mutual aid from
surrounding fire agencies.
The sheriff’s office reported
the cause of the explosion
and fire was a natural gas
portable boiler.
The fire district on Feb.
23 reported 73 employees
evacuated the warehouse.
Six were injured and taken
to Good Shepherd Medi-
cal Center, Hermiston,
where they were treated and
released.
Union Pacific Railroad
was notified to close down
traffic on the nearby rail line.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation closed High-
way 207 south of Hermiston
between Feedville Road and
the Space Age truck stop
near Interstate 84 Exit 182
due to the emergency
Hermiston City Manager
Byron Smith said the fire
at the company could have
BY THE NUMBERS
The series of crashes that created a massive pileup Monday,
Feb. 21, on the westbound side of Interstate 84 about 21
miles east of Pendleton also drew a massive public safety
response. Here’s a breakdown of relevant figures from the
emergency:
1.75 miles: Length of the crash zone on the westbound
side of Interstate 84, about 21 miles east of Pendleton.
170: Number of vehicle involved in the crashes.
71: Number of people transported from the site to the
Pendleton Convention Center.
17: Number of people taken from the crash site to local
hospitals. Two more later left from the convention center to
go to a hospital.
1: Number of injured who required an emergency flight to
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland.
0: Number of fatalities.
12: Number of agencies that responded to the crashes,
including Oregon State Police, Umatilla County Emergency
Management and the Pendleton Fire Department.
6: Number of tow companies that responded.
Source: Oregon State Police
La Grande, while westbound
was closed to between Exit
374 at Ontario and Exit 216.
Between the crash early
afternoon Feb. 21 and early
morning Feb. 22, when
the Oregon Department of
Transportation reopened
the eastbound lane of Inter-
state 84, Oregon State Police,
several local agencies and a
“half-dozen tow companies”
removed the dozens of vehi-
cles that had accumulated on
the snowy road, according to
an OSP press release.
ODOT announced on
Feb. 22 the eastbound lanes
reopened at about midnight,
but the westbound lanes were
not clear until about 6 a.m.
“Outstanding response
from our tow companies and
all who responded, including
law enforcement and EMS,”
ODOT District 12 Manager
Marilyn Holt said in a state-
ment. “They got everyone out
fast, which made clearing the
scene go well.”
Oregon State Police,
local law enforcement, fire
and medics from agencies
throughout Umatilla and
Union counties responded to
the crashes, along with help
from Walla Walla County
in Washington. The Hyatts
described the emergency
response as impressive.
Officers at the crash could
hear crashes occurring behind
them, according to a press
release from the OSP. The
Hyatts heard those crashes,
too.
“Bam, bam, bam,” Carter
Hyatt said. “They just kept
hitting.”
Marjorie said the sounds
were unnerving. They stayed
in their vehicle, even without
heat, for protection.
Capt. Merle Laci with
the La Grande Fire Depart-
ment said eight personnel,
two ambulances and one
rescue rig went to the crash.
La Grande Fire confirmed it
transported three individu-
als from the scene to Grande
Ronde Hospital, La Grande
Nick Oatley, spokesper-
son with Umatilla County
Fire District No. 1, confirmed
the Hermiston-based fire
department also responded,
sending three ambulances to
the scene. Good Shepherd
Medical Center, Hermiston,
reported it did not receive any
crash victims.
Oregon State Police/Contributed Photo
Vehicles pile up at part of a mass crash Monday, Feb. 21, on
the westbound side of Interstate 84 about 21 miles from
Pendleton. Oregon State Police reported 170 vehicles in all
were involved in crashes along almost 2 miles of the freeway
and 17 people were injured. But as of Feb. 22, state police
have not reported any fatalities from the crashes.
Hospitals at the ready
Elaine LaRochelle, inci-
dent commander at Grande
Ronde Hospital, La Grande,
activated the hospital’s inci-
dent command system,
according to a press release
from Mardi Ford, public infor-
mation officer.
“We are preparing to
support any patients sent our
way with emergency services
and medical care,” Ford said
in the release. “We do not
have any news on distribution
of patients to be sent our way.
However, we are prepared to
assist in this emergency. We
are cooperating fully with
all regional partners, includ-
ing our media contacts, to do
what we can to keep every-
one informed. Our primary
mission, however, is to
provide emergency services
and medical care to patients
in need. Once we know more,
we will issue an update.”
St. Anthony Hospital
communications director
Emily Smith said the hospital
received 13 patients. Of those
patients, 10 were treated and
released, two were admitted
but later discharged and one
was transferred to another
hospital.
Smith also extended grati-
tude to the emergency person-
nel who responded to the
scene.
“It was definitely a team
effort and we are grateful for
those who were able to assist,”
she wrote in an email.
Smith also explained how
St. Anthony responds to these
kinds of crises.
“When we receive word
of an incident like this, the
hospital activates Code D, or
disaster response,” accord-
ing to Smith. “Available staff
(off-duty) are called and asked
to come in based on current
personnel needs as well as
staffing for the next shift.
Patients are seen in the Emer-
gency Department as well as
other care areas of the hospi-
tal as appropriate for their
level of injury. We have an
extensive disaster plan that is
drilled with local emergency
response teams to ensure we
are prepared for situations like
this when they arise.”
Pendleton Convention
Center provides respite
The Hyatts said emer-
gency personnel checked on
them often, and they appre-
ciated that. And many of
the other people in the crash
helped each other, they said,
offering water and making
The Ohio-based Shear-
er’s Foods bought snack
food manufacturer Snack
Alliance in 2010 and took
over its Highway 207 facil-
ity.
After securing a tax
break from the city of Herm-
iston’s enterprise zone,
Shearer’s made several
expansions to its facility
from 2010 to 2014, devel-
opments valued at more
than $30 million. Shearer’s
did not immediately return
questions about the size of
its presence in Hermiston,
but a Shearer’s manager told
the East Oregonian in 2013
that the plant employed 325
people. In 2014, the potato
processor announced it was
hiring an additional 114
employees.
This is not the first major
emergency at Shearer’s. In
late September, Umatilla
County Fire District No.
1 dispatched a hazardous
materials team and other
emergency responders to a
chemical leak at the Shear-
er’s plant. Three people
were transported to Good
Shepherd while another
two ref used transpor t.
Once authorities were able
to identify the source of the
leak and stop it, Shearer’s
was allowed to reopen the
following day.
sure people were OK.
“There were people, regu-
lar people,” Marjorie Hyatt
said. “All that was really
nice.”
When school buses arrived
to carry the Hyatts and so
many more off the mountain,
they said they had to cross
the median to the eastbound
lanes. Marjorie banged her
knee on the fence, but fire-
fighters were right there to
help. And when they got on
the bus, she said, the Oregon
State Police trooper, who was
the person who had checked
on them, assisted them onto
the bus.
The buses took groups to
the Pendleton Convention
Center, where its manager,
Pat Beard, said while the
facility was holding events
that day, it opened rooms for
the people in the crash and
provided what hospitality it
could while they waited for
rides from family or friends or
made arrangements for other
accommodations.
The center also served as
something of a base of oper-
ations for law enforcement,
Umatilla County Public
Health and more. Beard
praised the coordination he
witnessed between the differ-
ent groups.
The Hyatts were among
the last from the crash to
still be at the convention
center that evening. Bags of
chips and other snacks lined
the long tables of the large
room they were in. A family
member was on the way to
help get them home, they said,
probably around 7 that night.
The Nissan, as far as they
knew, still was at the site of
the crash. Carter said all their
luggage was in the car, so he
anticipated making a trip back
to gather their belongings.
The Hyatts said they had
never experienced anything
like this emergency, and they
did not want to be in another.
But their concerns were for
others.
“I hope everyone gets out,”
Marjorie said.