A2 — BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2021
FIRE CREWS
Continued from Page A1
T URNING B ACK THE P AGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
August 19, 1971
The sheriff’s land sale yesterday netted the county
about $17,350, the tax offi ce announced.
Of 58 pieces for sale the county sold 20 of them. The
tax offi ce was unable to determine the total acreage
sold, but the larger parcels amounted to 160 and 120
acres in the Unity area. Three mines were sold averag-
ing 12 to 20 acres in the Cracker Creek, Whitney and
Washington Gulch areas.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 19, 1996
Firefi ghters’ focus has shifted from the Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest, where the 10,400-acre Sloans
Ridge fi re continues to cool, west to the Umatilla Nation-
al Forest, where several lightning-caused fi res totaling
7,150 acres still are burning.
The largest of the Umatilla fi res is the 2,995-acre Bull
fi re, which is burning about one mile north of Desolation
Butte. That’s about 12 air miles west of Granite.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 19, 2011
The head of maintenance at the Baker County Court-
house is planning more improvements of the grounds
around the building.
The idea is to “get back to the more historic beauty of
the Courthouse,” said Vince Woods during Wednesday’s
meeting of the Baker County Commission. Woods is the
county’s facility maintenance director.
Sidewalks around the Courthouse, specifi cally along
Third Street and Court Avenue, are being rerouted to
accommodate elm trees. The walkways will run fi ve feet
from the trees to allow them room to grow.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 20, 2020
A lightning-sparked blaze burning near the border
between Baker and Malheur counties blew up Tuesday
afternoon and evening, fanned by hot, dry and gusty
south winds.
The Baldy fi re grew from about 500 acres to an esti-
mated 5,000 acres as of Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday the rapidly growing blaze spawned a tower-
ing smoke plume visible from Baker City, about 20 air
miles to the north.
On Wednesday morning smoke settled into Baker Val-
ley.
Fire managers were optimistic that a brief rain shower
that quieted the fi re overnight would help a growing cadre
of fi refi ghters start to corral the blaze Wednesday, which
was forecast to be less blustery.
“A little rain is not going to put it out this time of year,”
Al Crouch, fi re mitigation/education specialist for the Bu-
reau of Land Management’s Vale District, said Wednesday
morning.
“We’ve got a ton of heavy iron in there to help us out,
so things are looking better in those terms.”
Crouch said the Oregon Department of Forestry dis-
patched multiple bulldozers to aid fi re crews. A total of
seven dozers were building fi re lines on Wednesday.
Having a full complement of initial
attack crews has been crucial, the fi re
offi cials say, in keeping the fi re season
in this area tranquil compared with the
confl agrations that have scorched hun-
dreds of thousands of acres elsewhere.
“We’ve had good response from our fi re
folks,” Skerjanec said.
The Wallowa-Whitman has handled
47 fi res this year — 39 started by
lightning, eight by people — that have
burned a combined 1,831 acres.
More than a dozen individual fi res
have burned more acres in Oregon this
summer.
The BLM has had four fi res in and
around Baker County, and a total of
5,754 acres burned, while the Oregon
Department of Forestry has reported 10
fi res and 28.5 acres burned.
(The BLM acreage fi gures are
somewhat skewed as they include acres
of BLM-managed land burned in two
larger fi res in Wallowa County, the 7,610-
acre Joseph Canyon fi re, which started
June 11, and the 23,000-acre Elbow
Creek fi re, which started July 15.)
These comparatively modest fi gures
are in spite of fi re danger that has
reached record levels at times during
this unusually hot and dry summer.
Starting in late June with a record-
setting heat wave, and continuing
through most of July, the Energy Release
Component (ERC) — a prediction of how
much energy a fi re would release based
on the moisture level in various types of
fuels, ranging from twigs to down logs —
was at or near all-time highs.
Widespread rain on the fi rst day of
August pushed the ERC below average
for several days. They jumped back to
near or above record levels during the
hot weather last week and are running
at about average this week due to cooler
temperatures.
But the fi re danger remains high, with
bans on campfi res, chain saw use and
other activities remaining in effect across
the region.
“Catching these fi res in the initial
attack stage is critical for us this year,”
said Joel McCraw, fi re management of-
fi cer for the Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest’s Whitman Ranger District, which
covers most of the southern half of the
2.4-million-acre forest. “If one got away
it might take days to get signifi cant help
from outside our area.”
The Wallowa-Whitman has not com-
pletely avoided the recent rapid rise in
COVID-19 infections that has affected
Baker County and adjoining counties.
During the fi rst 17 days of August,
Baker County recorded 169 cases — the
second-highest total for any month dur-
ing the pandemic, behind only December
2020, when there were 196 cases.
Peter Fargo, public information offi cer
for the Wallowa-Whitman, said that of
the approximately 140 fi refi ghters on
the forest who are tasked with “initial at-
tack” — the fi rst to arrive at a new blaze
— four recently tested positive and six
others have quarantined due to potential
exposure.
“We currently have adequate resourc-
es for initial attack on the Forest, and we
are ready to respond to new fi re starts at
the current pace,” Fargo said.
McCraw said fi refi ghters are required
to wear face masks when they’re inside
buildings or in vehicles.
They don’t wear masks while fi ghting
fi res. The nature of fi ghting relatively
small fi res means fi refi ghters usually
aren’t too close to one another, so social
distancing isn’t much of an issue, Mc-
Craw said.
Tracy Skerjanec, fi re management
offi cer for the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment’s Vale District, which includes land
the federal agency manages in North-
eastern Oregon, said COVID-19 has not
affected the district’s initial attack crews
at all.
That’s also the case in Baker County
for the Oregon Department of Forestry,
No surplus of fi refi ghting resources
said Steve Meyer, wildland fi re super-
Nathan Goodrich, deputy fi re staff
visor at the state agency’s Baker City
offi cer for operations on the Wallowa-
offi ce.
BREAK
Continued from Page A1
The previous record for
days reaching or exceeding 90
degrees at the airport was 42,
set in 2017.
The average is 26 days.
But the persistent heat was
paused this week when a pair
of cold fronts passed through
Baker City, the fi rst on Monday
evening, Aug. 16, the second ar-
riving the next afternoon with
gusty northwest winds.
The fronts ushered in much
cooler air that originated over
the chilly waters of the North
Pacifi c.
The high temperature at
the airport on Tuesday was 72
degrees. That’s the coolest day
Whitman, said it was obvious as early as
June that fi res in 2021 would generally
require more fi refi ghters on initial attack
to ensure the fl ames didn’t get away.
Even a small blaze, which in a normal
summer could be handled by a four-
person crew, has this summer required
about twice as many fi refi ghters, he said.
That means any factor that would
reduce initial attack resources — includ-
ing, potentially, COVID-19 — poses a
greater danger than usual.
Indeed, when a series of lightning
storms ignited more than a dozen fi res
in Northeastern Oregon in early August,
the Wallowa-Whitman’s initial attack
resources were completely engaged, Mc-
Craw said.
At that point, he said, if even one ad-
ditional fi re had started, there might not
have been any crews available to fi ght it
immediately.
And when the fi re danger is as severe
as it has been for much of this summer,
just a few hours can be enough time for a
smoldering fi re to erupt into an inferno,
Goodrich said.
“If you don’t get to them, they’re gone,
essentially, especially down in the can-
yons,” he said.
Less lightning, more rain
Skerjanec said a combination of fac-
tors — including, he concedes, elements
of luck — have contributed to the success
that initial attack crews have had in
keeping the vast majority of fi res from
burning more than a few acres.
“Most fi res we’ve been able to catch
fast without needing outside resources,”
he said.
With the exception of the early August
storms, lightning has been relatively
scarce, Skerjanec said.
“Dry” lightning — thunderstorms that
have lightning bolts but no rain to quell
any fi res ignited — have been even more
rare.
“Most of the storms that have come
through our area have had some
moisture with them,” Skerjanec said.
“That rain has either put the fi res out
or slowed them down and let us catch
them.”
in more than two months, since
June 10, when the high was 65.
The average high for Aug. 17 is
85 degrees.
The National Weather Ser-
vice predicted that Wednesday
would be cooler still, with a
high of 67 at the airport.
That’s likely to be the coolest
day for at least the next week,
but the warming trend that’s
WATER
4.4 million the previous week.
The city has been under phase 2 of its
Continued from Page A1
water curtailment ordinance since July
The city used 3.7 million gallons on
12. That includes the outdoor watering
Tuesday, after daily use ranged from 4 to time restriction.
forecast is decidedly modest
compared with what we’ve
endured most of this summer.
The Weather Service is pre-
dicting highs ranging from the
mid 70s to the low 80s through
early next week. A third cold
front, slated to arrive Satur-
day, Aug. 21, could touch off a
few rain showers or thunder-
storms.
Owen said in early July that she was
concerned the city’s water supply, which
includes mountain streams, Goodrich
Lake and a well, couldn’t satisfy demand
averaging around 5 million gallons.
O BITUARY
O REGON L OTTERY
‘Mike’ Blount
MEGABUCKS, Aug. 16
19 — 21 — 36 — 39 — 45 — 48
Next jackpot: $1.9 million
POWERBALL, Aug. 14
6 — 21 — 49 — 65 — 67 PB 18
Next jackpot: $274 million
MEGA MILLIONS, Aug. 17
3 — 6 — 16 — 38 — 56
Mega
x
Next jackpot: $256 million
WIN FOR LIFE, Aug. 16
3 — 16 — 44 — 74
PICK 4, Aug. 17
• 1 p.m.: 5 — 9 — 3 — 6
• 4 p.m.: 7 — 4 — 5 — 8
• 7 p.m.: 3 — 2 — 7 — 0
• 10 p.m.: 7 — 9 — 1 — 0
LUCKY LINES, Aug. 17
2-6-11-14-20-21-28-32
Next jackpot: $62,000
S ENIOR M ENUS
■ FRIDAY: Spaghetti, garlic rolls, zucchini pasta salad, bread
pudding
■ MONDAY (Aug. 23): Chicken-fried steak, mashed
potatoes with gravy, corn biscuits, cottage cheese with
fruit, cheesecake
■ TUESDAY (Aug. 24): Meatloaf, baked beans, peas,
coleslaw, tapioca
■ WEDNESDAY (Aug. 25): Hot turkey sandwich, mashed
potatoes with gravy, carrots, three-bean salad, birthday
cake
■ THURSDAY (Aug. 26): Pot roast with gravy, mashed
potatoes, mixed vegetables, rolls, carrot-raisin salad,
pudding
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $5 donation (60 and older), $7.50
for those under 60.
C ONTACT THE H ERALD
2005 Washington Ave., Suite 101
Open Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Telephone: 541-523-3673
Fax: 541-833-6414
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.
com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Advertising email
ads@bakercityherald.com
Classifi ed email
classified@bakercityherald.com
Circulation email
circ@bakercityherald.com
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays except Christmas Day by the
Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media
Group, at 1668 Resort St. (P.O. Box 807),
Baker City, OR 97814.
Subscription rates per month are
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Postmaster: Send address changes to
the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker
City, OR 97814.
Periodicals Postage Paid
at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Copyright © 2021
sauces and two custom rubs,
marketed through Elkhorn
Michael “Mike” Blount,
Custom Meats & Deli. His
48, of Baker City died Aug.
smoker set is still at the deli
6, 2021, at Saint Alphonsus
and continues to be used for
Regional Medical Center in
many events.
Boise.
His biggest passion of all
A memorial service and
was in his relationship with
celebration of
Jesus! Michael had the ability
Mike’s life will
to reach out and love others
take place Sat-
who were hurting. He espe-
urday, Aug. 21
cially loved children, from
at 2 p.m. at the
newborns to full grown kids,
Harvest Chris-
he loved them all. Michael
Mike
tian Church,
played the drums on the wor-
Blount
3720 Birch St. in
ship team at Agape Church
Baker City.
and blessed many with his
Michael Stephen Blount
love of music.
was born on May 17, 1973,
Michael enjoyed motor-
at Ridgecrest, California. He cycles. He had two beautiful
was raised in California until rides during his lifetime. He
2001. He married Victoria
liked going on road trips and
Thompson in 2005.
pairing up with others.
Most of Michael’s life was
His special pet was Chewy.
pursuing his passion for cook- He taught Chewy how to
ing. The last several years he high fi ve, shake and sit down
developed a barbecue smoker pretty. Chewy continues to
business, Innovation BBQ.
look for Michael.
He catered events, weddings,
Michael would want to be
grand openings, church
remembered for the journey
events and more. Michael
he was on. He had a drive
developed fi ve signature
that helped him touch so
Baker City, 1973-2021
N EWS OF R ECORD
FUNERALS PENDING
POLICE LOG
Stan Grove: Memorial ser-
vice, Friday, Aug. 20, 3 p.m. at the
Baker Elks Lodge, 1896 Second St.
(location changed from the golf
course).
Retha Allensworth: Memo-
rial service, Saturday, Aug. 21 at
11 a.m. at the Richland Christian
Church. Interment will follow at
Eagle Valley Cemetery. Friends
are invited to join the family for a
reception at the church, immedi-
ately following the service. Online
condolences can be made at
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
RECKLESS DRIVING: Wil-
liam Joseph La Rocque, 28, La
Grande, 9:10 a.m. Monday, Aug.
16 on Highway 7 near the Baker
City limits; cited and released.
many people. Michael wanted
every part of his life to be a
walk with the Lord. Every-
thing from his barbecue busi-
ness to his relationships with
family, friends and loved ones
was done to the glory of God.
He had a huge heart and a
huge personality to go with
it. Michael’s family wasn’t
always blood to him, but the
people that were loyal to him,
God being his most loyal fam-
ily of all.
Michael is survived by his
mother, Kathy Hickman;
his children, Christopher
and Kylee Blount, Kileeken
Kucher and Mikayla Passer;
his sisters, Bonnie Bar-
thel, Sherry Tanis and Diane
Elledge; his uncles, Vito
DeBartolo and Roy Mush-
rush; his cousins, Anthony
and Daniel DeBartolo, Cari
Edgerton, and Hal and Greg
Russie; and many brothers,
sisters and kids in the Lord.
He was preceded in death
by his grandparents, Joe and
Wilma Hickman; his father,
Stephen Blount; his daughter,
Brittney Blount; his brother,
Don Huff; his sister, Stepha-
nie Neilson; and his aunts,
Carol DeBartolo and Midge
Mushrush.
Those who would like to
make a donation in memory
of Michael may do so to
the Christian Motorcycle
Association through Tami’s
Pine Valley Funeral Home
& Cremation Services, P.O.
Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
Online condolences may be
shared at www.tamispineval-
leyfuneralhome.com.
THANK YOU! The many expressions of love and
support, given to us during this time of great loss,
were an immeasurable comfort. The help from
Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel with planning
the service. All the cards, flowers, food, phone
calls, and memorial contributions were
very much appreciated.
The family of
Elvin Eugene Carter
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com