Page 8 July 29,1983
Spilyay Tymoo
Fire blackens 9,254 reservation acres
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by Pat Leno
H ot tem peratures, high
winds and an over abundance
of tall, dried wildgrasses made
conditions just right for a fire,
and on July 22, the largest fire
of this year and last year, raged
through the Dry Creek area.
The cause of the fire is under
investigation but it is suspected
that kids camping at Dry Creek
on the Warm Springs River lost
control of their camp fire,
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Spilyay Tymoo photo by Leno
Bucket brigade
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Spilyay Tymoo photo by Leno
Chow time
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according to Walt Sixkiller,
BIA fire management officer.
The fire, was reported at
12:08 p.m. by two reservation
lookouts and fire fighting crews
worked for 18 hours to control
the fire. A total of 350 fire
fighters, coming from as far
away as the Burns and U matilla
R e se rv a tio n s, fo u g h t the
burning sagebrush, juniper and
grass. The fire covered a total
area of 9,254 acres.
Friday afternoon, the fire
threatened the homes and
trailers in the Dry Creek area.
Late Friday evening, the fire
th r e a te n e d th e C a th o lic
Church and housing in the
Miller Heights area. The fire
supression crews, at times, were
working against a fire that was
estimated to be traveling 10
miles an hour. The high winds
on Friday evening forced the
fire th ro u g h the Agency
Cemetery but the cemetery
suffered no serious damage.
It was reported a pumper
truck had been destoryed but
the truck received only minor
damage. No livestock was
injured, or lost in the fire.
Traffic on Highway #26 was
stopped at Bear Springs and
Madras and rerouted through
Maupin and Pine Grove on
Friday afternoon due to the
heavy smoke.
Four helicopters were used
to carry water to hotspots in the
fire. Twenty-four tankers were
used on the fire, those tankers
were from the Forest Service,
the State, BLM, W SFPI, BIA,
North Unit volunteers from
Madras, W.S. Fire and Safety
and one privately owned
tanker.
Mop-up operations should
be completed within th enext
few days, stated Sixkiller.
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Photo courtesy of Stoney Milter
Raging fire
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Aftermath
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Spityay Tymoo photo by Leno
i t ’s moving north
Photo courtesy of Stoney Miller