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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1981)
MR WALTER SLOCUM SERIALS SECTION U OF 0 LIBRARY EUGENE >ilyay Ty ¡ctfon Bulk Rate Penult No. 2 ^nstnoF OS , W"“ i98f S’**“«*’ 0R wa *u«w Jütl3 OR 97403 Spilyay Tymoo O X________ ___ VOL. 6 NO. 10 Warm Springs, OR 97761 WARM SPRINGS, OREGON 97761 Fireworks ignite many blazes on reservation istgeo-qi ma near i s and na above. C I win a ye a friend, hia Stow er! boil. This »ncentratii n to norm If .there a can conta ermaste ¡3-1161 e? ian Heal an, Jen US addition r Impro’ 20,000 -$13,789 zen group nd Seni< tions ai ttend tl tending tt the right t and on uggestior e use unds. OF SAINTS CHURCH FOR Fourth of July fireworks enjoyed by many in the Warm Springs community were the cause of numerous fires this last weekend. Combined with dry grass the fireworks sparked off 17 fires between 6:30 and midnight on July 4. One other fire started because of lightning during those hours. The fire calls came in “fast and furious,” according to Fire and Safety officer Ray Rivero. The Fire and Safety department had two men on duty, two men on call and two volunteers to respond to the almost continuous stream of calls throughout the night. At certain points more volunteer help was necessary to control various fires. Fire Management-Officer at Fire Control, Walt Sixkiiler said they had a full crew on duty and had to use all of the equipment available. A fire on Jackson Trail Road near Ken Smith’s house burning 60 acres began the night’s rash of fires. The fire was reported at 6:30 pm and was controlled by 9:00 pm. Warm Springs Fire and Safety were the initial responders with the Fire Control unit taking over. A helicopter with a bucket lifting water from the Deschutes River was used to extinguish the fire. At 7:00 pm a fire was reported on Schoolie Flats, northeast of Eagle Butte. This fire was caused by lightning. It was ignited in rough terrain according to Sixkiiler, being contained in the evening and The sensational fireworks display outside the Community Center then completely extinguished in Warm Springs on July 4th ignited many blazes in the area. by helicopter the next day. Small fires were reported Spilyay Tymoo photo by Shewczyk continuously throughout the night. “They came in so fast that the dispatcher didn’t have time to put some of them into the log,” says Rivero.- At 7:26 pm Fire and Safety responded to a fire at the trailer Tribal flag contest Fire up your imagination and get those juices flowing because the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation is sponsoring a Tribal Flag Contest. The Tribes have never had an official' flag other than the three-teepee design which most people associate with Kah-Nee- Ta. For that reason Tribal Council has authorized the contest which is to be for tribal members^ only. Council is looking for an inspired, original flag that will be identifiable as this reservation’s official flag. Cash prizes will be offered 'or first, second and third place winners. The deadline for all entries is Friday, July 24, at 1:00 p.m. Tribal Council will make the final selection of the flag they feel best represents the reservation. The new flag will then be made up and will be flown at all enterprises and at the main office. For details about size and number of entries per person, or for further information, contact Orthelia Miller at 553- 1161, ext. 254, or contact Maxine Clements at ext. 230. court. At 7:40 p.m. there occurred a fire in West Hills on Tao-shuh Road. An 8:20 p.m. fire occurred at Miller Heights. At 8:26 a fire was reported near the Utilities building beyond the Community Center ball field. ' Between 8:26 pm and 8:28 pm three fires were reported in the West Hills area. At 8:44 a fire was kindled behind the mill. Another fire near the Utilities department occurred at 9:08 pm. At 9:17 there was a fire reported on Foster Road and one at West Hills at 9:22 pm. The large scale fireworks display sponsored by the Community Center and the Fourth of July committee began just before 9:30 pm and immediately a blaze was setoff at the baseball field. The location of the fireworks was a crucial factor in so many fires being ignited by the display, according to Rivero. The fireworks were set off “at the bottom of a draw in the field where the wind picks up.” Rivero felt this was not a good place “ because the fireworks . could only go into a dry grass area. Some of the fireworks didn’t explode high enough,” he said. Rivero also commented that a simple sparkler burns over 1000 degrees and it doesn’t take even 400 degrees to start grass on fire. The hillside above the baseball park was ignited by the Community Center display at 9:52 pm. Both a Fire Control unit and the Fire and Safety department responded to the call. The 16 acre fire was controlled by 1:00 am. Other small fires reported and responded to throughout the fourth of July night include: 10:13 pm at the elementary school; 10:22 pm, north of the elementary school past the Catholic church; 10:25 pm, near the Catholic church; 11:17 pm, on the flats above Uren Leonard’s house; at 11:50 pm, the hillside fire was rekindled; 11:56 pm, a fire was reported just below Macy’s store. The most extensive fire of the night took place at Indian Head Canyon near Kah-Nee- Ta burning 220 acres. The blaze,sparked off by fireworks near the road, was not controlled until 8:00am Sunday morning. Thirty people from Fire Control responded along with the volunteer fire department from Kah-Nee-Ta. The main problem with that fire came when hotel, guests “who were not properly clothed” had to be removed by the police, according to Sixkiiler. Neither the Fire Control unit nor the Warm Springs Fire and Safety department anticipated as many fires as there were. “The conditions were perfect,” says Rivero, along with “indiscriminate use of fireworks by kids.” He went on to say, “What the fireworks display didn’t start kids did.” “Most of the fires . that «occurred can't be defined in dollar loss,’’states Rivero, because juniper and grass were burned. But every fire presents the possibility of a structure burning which would be a significant loss. There is always the possibility, too, that someone could be injured. “We want to prevent this from happening next year,” Rivero emphasized. He suggested the banning of private fireworks and the coordination of a large display. Prior to the Fourth of July a weed abatement program should be undertaken. The numerous fires this Fourth of July only “reinforces how dangerous of a tinderbox this area is in the summer.” Tribes opposed steelhead legislation during heated shouting match by Sandy Rangila In what was termed a boisterous “shouting match,” representatives and supporters of the four Columbia River treaty tribes presented testimony in opposition to proposed legislation that would ban commercial fishing for steelhead by Indians. The hearing before a Senate panel was held in Seattle on Monday, June 29. Nelson Wallulatum, Eugene Greene and tribal attorney Howard Arnett were there to represent the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation. (The full text of Nelson Wallulatum’s statement is on page 3.) Statements by the treaty tribes and their supporters were frequently interrupted by loud, emotional outbursts from an overflow crowd of about 600 people. The controversial bills (Senate Bill S.874 and the House version, H.R. 2978) “are not intended to protect steelhead, but are soley aimed at preventing tribes from Continued on page 3
