Troy begins to heal after grizzly summer scene
by Katherine Stickroth
For the Chieftain
___________________________________________
A grizzly bear rampaged toward Troy in August,
threatening many lives.
It was so large that it destroyed countless numbers of
cattle scattered over vast burning landscapes. Homes
were destroyed and livelihoods affected.
But this bruin didn’t wear a fur coat. It was the
Grizzly Bear Complex wildfire that barreled down the
Wenaha River Canyon in Troy’s direction.
“It is named correctly,” said Paul Karvoski, director
of Emergency Services Management in Wallowa
County. “It would not stop. It traveled 8 miles in
six hours.”
Months later, Troy residents continue to find a fire of
this magnitude difficult to comprehend. They hesitate
to say any one person was a hero, though Karvoski is
consistently mentioned when stories are recounted, as
are Doug Mallory and Kristen Yeager, owners of the
Troy Resort.
Upon receiving notification of the fire, Karvoski
arrived in Troy and assessed that residents and property
were in imminent danger — and there were no
resources to fight fire.
“What we had was what we had,” Karoski said.
In such circumstances, Karvoski’s vital responsibility
is to request that state officials activate Oregon’s
Conflagration Act, which mobilizes task forces to
fight fire.
Karvoski topped Bartlett Bench with Sheriff Steve
Rogers and other emergency officials to move into cell
service range. While waiting for the callback, they
watched a smoke plume arch its way toward Troy,
igniting spot fires ahead of it. Yet another front of the
inferno headed toward them. Pressure mounted as each
minute challenged their safety for the sake of a call. Fi-
nally, his phone rang — five task forces from
Portland would come, plus other detachments.
Back at Troy, Karvoski gazed up the Wenaha River.
“There was a wall of flames 3 to 4 miles wide, and you
knew it was coming at you. You could hear a roar, with
trees popping and snapping. It was an eerie feeling.”
Soon afterward he was notified of the Falls Creek fire
south of Joseph, where homes along Hurricane Creek
were in jeopardy. “I sat at the Hurricane Creek Grange
Hall and watched it for eight hours,” he said.
Karvoski said he didn’t know if he was coming or
going for the next three weeks. By Labor Day,
however, weather conditions and resources provided
enough relief for him to attend the Boise State-Wash-
ington football game.
“I didn’t want to miss that,” he said with a smile.
Karvoski is quick to divert expressions of appreciation
to others who were instrumental in saving Troy.
“Ranchers and their friends immediately began blading
fire breaks to protect what they had. There was a Forest
Service kid who did one hell of a job managing people
to get the fire line going. I can’t say enough for what
Union County did. And Doug (Mallory) and Kristen
(Yeager) did everything they humanly could to help.”
“I’m still in survival mode,” Doug said recently while
Kristen scurried behind him in the kitchen. “I could feel
the fire’s heat, though it was 4 to 5 miles away. Flaming
pine cones fell from the sky like grenades. Helicopters
buzzed back and forth. Made me think of Vietnam.
We didn’t think any help was coming.
“We provided food as best we could. Commissioner
Susan Roberts helped make close to 300 sandwiches.
Some firefighters upon arrival had not eaten in two
days.”
“We just made sandwiches and prayed,” Kristen in-
serts.
Area residents, grateful for Paul, Doug and Kristen,
realize it will take time for all to piece their lives
together. However, with adequate moisture in the
winter, Kristen says, “There’s at least one thing to hope
for. At least there should be plenty of mushrooms
next spring.”
Courtesy of Katherine Stickroth
Paul Karvoski, Emergency Management Services Director for Wallowa County.
Courtesy of Doug Mallory
Grizzly Bear Complex fire approaches Troy
WALLOWA COUNTY GIVING 2015 Page 17