SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
LOCAL & STATE
LOOKOUT
L OCAL B RIEFING
Continued from Page 1A
Several decades ago there
were more than 50 lookouts
in the region that were staffed
each summer.
But over time, with sur-
veillance by airplane more
feasible, and a proliferation of
roads making it easier for fi re
crews to access remote areas,
most lookouts were closed, and
many removed.
Mount Ireland remains a
valuable cog in the fi re-detec-
tion system in part because
of its elevation — if you head
west from the peak you won’t
hit a higher summit until you
get to the Cascades.
But its location is also ideal,
said McCraw, the fi re manage-
ment offi cer for the Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest’s
Whitman District.
From Mount Ireland’s
summit, the lookout can see
swathes of the Wallowa-Whit-
man as well as parts of its
neighboring national forests,
the Umatilla and Malheur,
McCraw said. On especially
clear days the views extend
east into Idaho and north into
Washington.
“It’s a pretty critical one,”
McCraw said.
Mount Ireland also over-
looks the municipal watershed
for Sumpter, where a wildfi re
could threaten the city’s water
supply, McCraw said.
But of course a lookout is
only as effective as the person
who works there, scanning
the hundreds of thousands of
acres where a fi re could start.
And for the past two years,
McCraw has had to scramble
to hire someone for the posi-
tion, which pays about $16.90
per hour.
In 2020, Mount Ireland’s
longtime lookout wasn’t
able to return to the lofty
perch, but McCraw had a
fair amount of time to fi nd a
replacement.
Typically the lookout
doesn’t start work at Mount
Ireland until late June or
early July, when most of the
snow has melted and the
wildfi re risk begins to rise.
This spring McCraw’s chal-
lenge was even more acute.
The lookout he had enlisted
for the job backed out late in
May.
Then someone suggested to
McCraw that he explain his
dilemma to associations of fi re
BENTZ
Continued from Page 2A
But besides the partisan
implications, Bentz said it
also was his constitutional
duty to support an investiga-
tion of what happened on
Jan. 6.
“On the list, certainly not
necessarily at the top, is the
fact that each of us took an
oath to protect and defend
the Constitution,” he said.
“And if you have people wan-
dering through the Capitol
screaming ‘Hang (former
Vice President) Mike Pence’
— which they were, you can
look at it and see it — it’s
the kind of thing that we in
Congress should be doing our
best to prevent in the future.”
The rioters breached the
Capitol under the assump-
tion, without evidence, that
massive voter fraud had been
perpetrated in key states to
Dekker Smith earns doctorate
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Dekker Smith of Baker City
earned a doctor of physical therapy degree May 15 from
Angelo State University.
Halfway man, 19,
dies in car crash
EO Media Group
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest/Contributed Photo
The lookout at Mount Ireland might see as many mountain goats as human visitors.
Lookout’s history dates to 1915
The people charged with managing
Northeastern Oregon’s federal forests early
on recognized Mount Ireland’s utility as a fi re
lookout.
Except the peak wasn’t called Mount
Ireland then.
According to Ray Kresek’s comprehensive
book, “Fire Lookouts of Oregon and Washing-
ton,” on Aug 28, 1915, just a decade after the
Forest Service was created, agency employ-
ees Charles F. Groom and C.C. Davenport
climbed the mountain and established a
“rag” camp on the white granitic boulders
that make up its summit.
At that time it was called Bald Mountain.
On Jan. 25, 1917, the Oregon Geographic
Board petitioned the federal government to
rename Bald Mountain as Ireland Mountain.
The honoree was not the island off the west
coast of England, but a man — the late Henry
Ireland, former supervisor of the Whitman
National Forest, which includes his namesake
peak, who died May 31, 1916. (The Wallowa
and Whitman national forests were com-
bined in the early 1950s.) The U.S. Geograph-
ic Board approved the change, and at some
point later the agency went with the current
form, Mount Ireland, rather than the original
Ireland Mountain.
The fi rst lookout structure, a simple cabin
with a fl at roof to facilitate the lookout’s work,
was built in 1916. A cupola was added to the
cabin in 1928, according to contemporary
newspaper reports.
The original cabin was removed in 1957
and replaced by the current lookout — a
much different structure made of steel with
the expansive glass windows typical of
lookouts.
Unlike many lookouts, which are perched
atop a tower to get above nearby trees,
Mount Ireland needs no such artifi cial means.
Besides being the tallest point in the vicinity,
the mountain’s summit is bare stone, the
only trees being whitebark pines stunted by
the nearly arctic climate and frequent strong
winds.
— Jayson Jacoby
lookout enthusiasts, of which
there are several.
The Oregon Fire Lookouts
posted about the situation on
its Facebook page on June 4.
McCraw said he has had a
“very good response” from the
post, and several candidates
have been in touch.
McCraw said on Wednes-
day, June 9 that he will be able
to fi ll the vacancy in time to
have Mount Ireland staffed.
The person he hires will
have an interesting summer,
to be sure. Mount Ireland is
pretty remote even by lookout
standards.
You can’t drive to the peak.
The roughly 3 1/2-mile
hiking trail offsets its modest
distance with a signifi cant
elevation gain of 2,300 feet —
roughly equivalent to climbing
the Astoria Column about 18
times.
(Except without stairs.)
The nearest settlement is
Granite, about eight miles
from the trailhead. Sumpter is
about 15 miles.
McCraw said the Forest
Service each year hires a he-
licopter crew to haul in water,
steal the victory from former
President Donald Trump.
Although Congress
ultimately voted to certify
the vote, Bentz was among
a group of lawmakers who
voted against the certifi ca-
tion of votes in Pennsylvania.
Bentz said his vote for
the Jan. 6 commission and
against the certifi cation
were consistent because both
followed the Constitution.
Bentz said Pennsylvania
didn’t follow the Constitution
when it bypassed its state
legislature to extend absen-
tee deadlines.
A 19-year-old Halfway man died Wednesday night,
June 9 after crashing his Kia Spectra on Highway 27
about four miles south of Prineville, according to Oregon
State Police.
Clayton Gray was driving north on state Highway 27
when he crossed the southbound lane, left the road and
rolled his car, according to state police.
Gray was pronounced dead at the scene.
Gray’s younger sibling, who was not identifi ed, was a
passenger in the car and transported by AirLink Criti-
cal Care Transport to a nearby hospital with serious
injuries.
The sibling is a student at Crook County High School,
according to the Crook County School District.
“Our hearts are broken for the family and we are
ready to provide whatever support is needed,” Michelle
Jonas, Crook County High School principal, said in a
statement Thursday, June 10. “We’re a small, close-knit
community so tragedies like this affect all of us deeply.
We’re praying the student makes a full recovery.”
ARREST
Continued from Page 1A
propane and other supplies
to the lookout. A technician
checks the radio equipment on
the peak, which includes an
antenna and a repeater.
The Mount Ireland lookout
usually works until mid to late
September, depending on the
weather.
Snowstorms are possible in
any month at that elevation,
but McCraw said in some
years dry weather persists
into October so the lookout
stays on duty through deer
season.
She is charged with
two counts of assaulting
a public safety offi cer and
one count of attempted
assault of a public safety
offi cer, two counts of reck-
less endangering, resisting
arrest and fourth-degree
assault (domestic).
The incident started
about 4:25 p.m. when
offi cers responded to a
domestic assault call at
880 Elm St. No. 10, accord-
ing to a press release from
Police Chief Ray Duman.
Offi cers talked to Mark
Brinton, Valerie Brinton’s
husband, who had a bleed-
ing cut on his head about
the size of a quarter, ac-
cording to a report written
by Offi cer Mark Powell.
Mark Brinton’s head
and clothing were soaked
in motor oil, according
to the report, which also
notes that Mark Brinton
is blind.
Mark Brinton told police
his wife hit him several
times with her hand and
poured the oil on him.
When offi cers found
Valerie Brinton in a travel
trailer, she refused to come
out. She then threw a
piece of glass and “another
object” at offi cers outside,
according to Powell’s
report.
Offi cers pulled Brinton
from the trailer through
the window, during which
she kicked Detective Shan-
non Regan in the face.
Offi cers handcuffed
Brinton. They did not
deploy a Taser during the
arrest, Duman said.
Before she was driven
to the Baker County Jail,
Brinton attempted to kick
Detective Chris Sells in
the groin, according to
Powell’s report.
At the jail, Brinton con-
tinued to fi ght and resist,
Powell wrote in his report,
including grabbing and
pinching deputy Brandon
Mastrude.
None of the police
offi cers needed medical
treatment, Duman said.
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EASTERN OREGON
2021
PHOTO CONTEST
Official Rules:
Photo Contest open now and closes at
11:59 pm Sunday, June 20, 2021.
This is an outdoor camp with horseback
riding and outdoor adventure for youths
ages 12-15 years old.
Staff will choose the top 10. The public can
vote online for People’s Choice from 12:01
am Monday, June 21 through 11:59 pm
Thursday, June 30.
Cost is $ 2.00
Digital or scanned photos only, uploaded
to the online platform. No physical copies.
(that's right only $2.00 dollars)
June 26-27, 2021
For more information, questions or an
application please call Jodie Radabaugh at
541-524-9358 or 541-403-4933
All state and county regulations will be followed.
Only photographers from Oregon may
participate.
The contest subject matter is wide open but
we’re looking for images that capture life
in Eastern Oregon.
Submit all photos
online at:
Entrants may crop, tone, adjust saturation
and make minor enhancements, but may
not add or remove objects within the
frame, or doctor images such that the final
product doesn’t represent what’s actually
before the camera.
The winners will appear in the July 8th
edition of Go Magazine; the top 25 will
appear online.
Gift cards to a restaurant of your choice
will be awarded for first, second and third
place.
bakercictyherald.com/photocontest