PAGfc 2 AUGUST* j, 1^1
fires, flood, Hail Hit Reservation
Brief Storm Wreaks Havoc
A few short moments of
violent storming July 25 threw
the reservation into a turmoil
that could only be matched by
a grade B disaster movie. Un
like the silver screen, however,
the effects of wind, lightning,
hail and rain posed a contin
uing threat and created many
hours of tedious labor.
Sudden high winds from
the north brought welcome re
lief to those suffering from
days of sultry weather, but
they also ushered in a storm of
unusual intensity. Power lines
were blown down starting a 20-
acre grass fire within sight of
the Fire Control Office. Lightn
ing struck the timber and
range country repeatedly, set
ting off at least twelve differ
ent blazes.
Vernon Tanewasha of the Roads Department found hailstones
buried underneath debris on Tenino Road two days after the
storm 'July 25.
power of the Fire Control Of
fice. A glance out the window
revealed a fire beginning on
the sage and brush covered hill
across the highway, but despite
the proximity of the fire the
fallen line made it difficult to
approach.
PP&L cut off the power
and pumpers and men moved
in to fight the blaze which
spread rapidly southward ac
ross the hillside. According to
Larry Whalawitsa, Fire Con-
troll Officer, firefighting was
complicated by a westerly
wind that arose and blew
flames up the hill making it
inaccessible by trucks. A heli-
(Cont’d on Page 12)
Hail the size of marbles
and larger battered Kah-Nee-
Ta and the upper Tenino Val
ley, sending tourists and live
stock for cover. And as if that
wasn’t enough of a show, driv
ing rain washed tons of rock,
dirt and trees down into the
Tenino Valley causing employ
ees to abandon the Tribal Ad
ministrative Center which lies
in the flood plain below.
Fires
Thirteen fires, twelve of
which were lightning-caused,
burned simultaneously in all
Helicopters Aid In Fire Control
“It is expensive,” admits
At recent timber and range
fires on the reservation the Fire Control Officer Larry
star of the show has been a Whalawitsa, “but in the long
small but zippy helicopter run it pays for itself.”
Caveman Helicopters out of
equipped with a fifty gallon
bucket. In an endless circular Grants Pass, in the person of
flight .patter, the chopper fills pilot and owner Jim Hender
its bucket with water, swoops shot, has been under contract
over the flames and — if the with the BIA since the begin
aim is right — douses them, to ning of fire season. The flying
ace and his machine have seen
the cheers of onlookers.
a great deal of action in this
For these heroics the heli summer’s fire hazardous
copter and its pilot receive drought conditions.
Commenting on the effi
$169 a day for standby and $90
ciency of fighting fires from
an hour for flight time. This is the air, Whalawitsa said,
“They’re very good at initial
the first year that the BIA has attacks and they get the water
contracted for helicopter ser into inaccessible places.”
The chopper not only puts
vice on a regular, season-long
basis. Previously aerial fire water on fires but also hauls
fighting was requested only in equipment and manpower to
sites.
emergencies.
corners of the reservation,
from the northern fir country
to the Simnasho rangeland to
the Ponderosa Pine in the
south. Two helicopters patrol
led the entire reservation, as
sisted in putting water on the
blazes, and transported tools
and men to fire sites. At least
forty volunteers and employees
of the fire control, forestry,
roads, and natural resources
departments as well as logging
outfits, were deployed to con
trol the active fires and watch
for smoldering ones.
Forty to fifty mile per hour
winds knocked down a power
line along the Kah-Nee-Ta
Road at 4:00 causing a loss of
Perhaps one of the most
important although least flashy
functions of the air service is
to regularly patrol the reserva
tion as a kind of flying log
out.
“He can cover the open
areas so much quicker. He
gets the jump on fires and has
kept many fires small.”
The Deschutes River area
is patrolled by air on the
weekends when the incidence
of illegal campfires is apt to
be high. Radio contract with
look-outs and ground vehicles
makes fast work of identifying
and attacking a problem.
Junipers blazed and paths of fire raced across the dry billside
after high winds blew down a power line across from the fire
control office July 25. A sudden storm brought winds, lightning,
hail and rain, touching off fires and a flood.
(Sandy Rangila Photo)
In the sparing of timber
and range land lie the savings
that Whalawitsa sees in the
helicopter work. “If he spots
one abandoned campfire that
could turn into a range or
forest fire, than he’s more
than paid for himself, espec
ially with the dry conditions as
they are,” remarked Whala
witsa.
In emergencies such as the
lightning storm last week, ad
ditional helicopter time might
be required. Both fire fighting
and reconnaissance were pro
vided by Columbia Helicopters
and pilot Dan “Marty” Martin
when a dozen fires had person
nel and equipment spread quite
thin. Such temporary help runs
a flat $260 per hour of flight.
The BIA has no immediate
plans to acquire its own heli
copter.
Whalawitsa indicated that
since this is the first summer
for full time air reconnaissance
the desirabilty of such an in
house service has yet to be
determined.
In the meantime whirly
birds will be going where look
outs and pumpers can’t — and
perhaps even stealing the
show.
tei
lir
I ve
(COYOTE NEWS)
vo
SPILYAY TYMOO STAFF
Sid Miller
Sandy Rangila
Cynthia Stowell
Managing Editor
Assistant Editor
Reporter-Photographer
FOUNDED IN MARCH 1976
Tri
am
Cei
big
ere
the Warm
Published bi-weekly by the Confederated Tribe
Springs Reservation of Oregon, Warm Springs, Oregon 97761.
Any written material to the Spilyay Tymoo should be
addressed to: SPILYAY TYMOO, P O BOX 735, WARM
SPRINGS, OREGON »7761.
P.O. Box 735, Warm Springs, Oregon 97761
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TRAINEES
Roger Stwyer Jolene Estimo
tl
coi
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Marla Patt
Pilot Dan “Marty” Martin of Columbia
Helicopters was called in to assist in firefighting
and reconnaissance while thirteen fires burned
or smoldered after the July 25 storm. Here
points out a distant fire on Forest Service a
while making a sweep of the reservation.
I