Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
A6 Wildfires Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 26, 2015 Governor activates National Guard Brown sends for troops during visit to Canyon Creek Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY — A contin- gent of 125 Oregon National Guard members will arrive in John Day Wednesday, Aug. 26, to helS ¿ght the &anyon &reeN &omSle[ ¿re. The soldiers underwent training at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem before heading to John Day. They will assist ¿rst re- sponders, initial attacN con- tract crews and ¿re managers. The soldiers come from units across the state, includ- ing 22 Engineering &ompa- ny, 1-186 Infantry Battalion, 1-82 &avalry, 11 Brigade Support Battalion and 1249 Engineer &ompany. They join soldiers from &harlie -158 Aviation, DRESS Continued from Page A1 “There’s not a sticN of wood left in the place, and the windows melted,” MiNe said. Sherry pointed out the ar- eas where her now grown chil- dren had their bedrooms. The boys stayed downstairs where their loud music could be at a distance, she said with a smile. In what was the room where Sherry, who has deliv- ered 2,900 babies in her ca- reer, stands a blacNened, metal portion of a birthing chair. She also owns the Naturally Yours health food store in John Day. and Army and Air Nation- al Guard Joint Staff, which have been participating in ¿re¿ghting efforts in Oregon since Aug. 3. Gov. Kate Brown, while in John Day visiting the &anyon &reeN &omple[ ¿re camp Aug. 19, authorized the activation of 250 Oregon Na- tional Guard members to as- sist with ongoing ¿re¿ghting efforts throughout the state. The additional 250 volun- teers are composed of Ore- gon Guard units from around the state. Half of the addi- tional guard members are cit- izen-airmen from the 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland and the 13rd Fighter Wing in Klamath Falls. The other half of the addi- tional Guard members come from the Oregon Army Na- tional Guard’s 41st Infantry Brigade &ombat Team. The additional personnel are scheduled to report to the Department of Public Safe- ty Standards and Training in Salem to undergo ¿re¿ghting training starting Wednesday and should complete their training by Sunday. The Oregon National Guard has an ongoing agree- ment with the Oregon De- partment of Forestry Nnown as Operation Plan SmoNey, which stipulates how Ore- gon National Guard members will be used to assist in annu- al ¿re¿ghting. During the governor’s brief tour of the ¿re camp, she said, “We really appreciate the incredible worN our ¿rst responders are doing.” A clinic, library and pharma- cy, where she stored 5,000 homeopathic remedies, were also lost to the ¿re. A new 9,000 walN-in bathtub was purchased and placed in the basement the day before the ¿re, to help care for her elderly and cancer patients who would visit. It, too, was destroyed. The day the ¿re broNe out, Sherry was in La Grande to deliver a baby. MiNe, who was at home, said he saw a puff of smoNe, across Highway 395 South from their house, on the ridge north of Berry &reeN. It was the Berry &reeN ¿re. He climbed a hill to taNe a picture that day, and by the time he descended and reached his house, he felt a hot wind blowing; it was the Mason Spring ¿re, and Àames were coming down the hill above his home. MiNe said he’d Nnown about the Mason Spring ¿re but thought it was only 10 acres and a safe distance away. The day’s forecast called for south to southwest winds, gusting to 35 mph. “I remember thinNing, µI hope they get that out,’” he said. He tooN his ¿rst picture at 11:32 a.m. “The winds always picN up around 11 a.m.,” he said. The Eagle/George Plaven Gov. Kate Brown visited the Incident Command Center of the Canyon Creek Complex fire Wednesday, Aug. 19, in John Day. He had a plan to start the sprinNlers that were on the roof and run down to their large ¿sh pond. But while MiNe was on the roof, Grant &ounty Sher- iff reserve deputy Ken Olson pulled up and yelled at him to leave. Later, from the safety of the John Day home where Sherry’s sons, &had and Bret Lauer, live, MiNe heard it was only ¿ve minutes from the time he left that his home be- came engulfed in Àames. Sherry said &had, a wild- land ¿re¿ghter, was ¿rst to tell them the house was gone, and he was devastated. He wished he could have helped, but he had been assigned to a differ- ent ¿re. Besides their home, the Dresses lost many possessions in the ¿re, including collectors coins, vehicles and a couple of travel trailers. However, MiNe’s metal shop building and the tools in- side are intact, and red peppers are still growing in Sherry’s garden. All of their cats and dogs survived, but they are still searching for their older Per- sian cat, Fluffy. Although they’ve lost so much, Sherry said they have family and friends to support them, and they were insured. Sherry said they’re less concerned about themselves and more worried about oth- ers whose ¿nancial situation forced them to choose be- tween health insurance and home insurance and who won’t be able to rebuild. MiNe and Sherry found a rental on the west side of John Day for now. “I don’t want to go bacN,” Sherry said. “The reason we lived up the canyon was be- cause it was so beautiful.” They thought about mov- ing out of the area but decided against it. “We’ve been here for 30 to 35 years in this community,” she said. “We’re going to stay here.” Church Services In Grant County
