Experience the Wallowas
OUTDOOR GUIDE INSIDE TODAY
Enterprise, Oregon
Issue No. 19
www.wallowa.com
August 26, 2015
$1
COUNTY ON FIRE
MASSIVE FIREFIGHTING
EFFORT CONTINUES IN THE
NORTH AS NEW BLAZES
BREAK OUT ELSEWHERE
Steve Tool/Chieftain
By 3 p.m. on Aug. 20, the Grizzly Bear Complex had started its assault on Bartlett Bench above the Shiloh Inn Café in Troy.
INFERNOS RAGE OVER 59,200 ACRES
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
J
See BLAZE, Page A9
Steve Tool/Chieftain
UMATILLA
NAT’L FOREST
129
e R on d e
and Wash.
Gr
Ore.
Smoke nearly
obscures
firefighting
helicopters
at the Joseph
Airport. These
helicopters
are shared
between the
Grizzly Bear
Complex Fire
and the Falls
Creek Fire.
Troy
Grizzly Bear
Complex:
59,200 acres
WALLOWA-WHITMAN
NAT’L FOREST
Wall
Wallowa
ow
a R
iv
82
er
ust a week ago there was a
2,000-acre fire in Washing-
ton and some smoke to talk
about.
By Thursday, Aug. 20,
there was a wind-driven
conflagration of 48,000 acres headed
for Troy.
That fire, a combination of 17
lightning-caused fires that burned
together and became the 59,200-acre
Grizzly Bear Complex, spawned an
Emergency Conflagration Act, the
formation of a multi-agency, multi-
state task force, the mobilization of
more than 25 tanker trucks to protect
Troy, and more.
As of press time the structures and
cattle of Anchor Ranch on Grouse
Flats north of Troy have survived
a complete burn of the surrounding
area and ranch manager Buck Mat-
thews and his hired hand Josh Mark-
eson are working to get 300 cattle off
Eden Bench as fire rushes down on
them. Plenty of folks volunteered to
help, but Matthews does not want to
put anyone else in danger in an area
that requires a lot of knowledge to
navigate.
The new danger for the larger
fire is that it may soon meet back up
with the Bear Butte fire in Colum-
bia County — the fire closest to the
towns of Dayton and Asotin.
Area in
detail
Enterprise
Falls Creek Fire:
250 acres
MORE COVERAGE ON PAGES A8, A9
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N
)DOOV CUHHN ¿ UH FRQWLQXHV WR JURZ, EXW VORZO\, A8
10 miles
3
Joseph
EAGLE CAP
WILDERNESS
*As of Aug. 25
EO Media Group graphic
Local family cares for one of their own
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
When it comes to the
problems of aging, few raise
as many emotions as when
loved ones can no longer
care for themselves because
of age-related issues. While
local resources offer some
options, one local family
is providing home care for
their family matriarch, who
suffers from dementia.
Four generations live
in the Zeise home: the ma-
triarch, Elaine Winslow,
her daughter, Mary Zeise,
Winslow’s granddaughter,
Julia Zeise, and Winslow’s
great-grandson,
Daniel
Zeise, 11. The entire fami-
ly helps care for Winslow,
including Daniel Zeise for
short periods.
Before moving to the
Wallowa Valley two years
ago, Julia Zeise, who had
nursing home experience
as a Certified Nursing As-
sistant, had been caring for
Winslow. Mary Zeise fol-
lowed her daughter to the
area about a year later.
The family moved to
the Wallowa Valley at the
behest of Mary Zeise’s sis-
ter, Lori Winslow-Ford of
Wallowa, who wanted to
consolidate the family. Al-
though family members
noted Winslow’s forgetful-
ness, it was so gradual, they
didn’t suspect dementia.
Winslow-Ford
suggested
some testing, and a visit to
a local medical clinic con-
firmed the disease.
See ZEISE, Page A10
Zeise
Assault, arson threaten Old Ski Run Road
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Jon David Howells, 35, of
Joseph was arrested shortly
before noon Wednesday,
Aug. 19, when he walked
out of the woods and up to
law enforcement waiting at
the scene of suspected ar-
son on Old Ski Run Road
in rural Joseph. Howells
had been sought on several
charges after an argument
with his former girlfriend
escalated into an alleged
physical assault the evening
of Aug. 17.
The injured girlfriend es-
caped to her car and drove
to a neighbor’s home where
she called 911. She was able
to advise law enforcement
of the possible location of
Howells and also reported
that he was acting suicidal
Elliott Seyler/Chieftain
Both car and house are completely destroyed at the scene of the suspected arson on Old Ski
Run Road in rural Joseph.
and irrational.
Wallowa County Sher-
iff’s Office, Oregon State
Police and U.S. Forest Ser-
vice law enforcement of-
ficers began to assemble a
search team when another
911 call came in reporting a
fire at the residence.
Multiple agencies in-
cluding Joseph and Enter-
prise fire departments and
Oregon Department of For-
estry fire crews responded
and quelled the fire, but the
residence and a nearby car
were a total loss.
It was believed that
Howells started the fire be-
fore leaving the residence.
Although law enforce-
ment searched for Howells
at the site, he was not locat-
ed, at that time. Neighbors
asked for a police presence
and it was to that officer
that Howells eventually sur-
rendered.
He is currently housed
at the Union County Jail
and faces charges of felo-
ny arson-1, two counts of
strangulation, one count of
menacing and one count of
assault-4.