The Columbia press., April 17, 2020, Page 3, Image 3

T he C olumbia P ress
April 17, 2020
3
Coronavirus: The
week’s updates
Continued from Page 1
agencies.
“These are your friends and
neighbors putting on a uni-
form to help out in their local
communities,” said Stephen
Bomar, Public Affairs direc-
tor for the Oregon Military
Department. “We are just
one part of an amazing Ore-
gon team.”
The PPE shipment will only
last as long as social distanc-
ing protocols continue, said
Andrew Phelps, director of
Oregon’s Office of Emergency
Management.
“In these unprecedented
times, this large shipment
of PPE will make a huge dif-
ference in Oregon’s ability to
fight this outbreak,” Phelps
said. “However, it’s clear that
even this shipment will not
be sufficient to meet the ex-
pected needs of our health
care workers.”
s mall grants
Clatsop County commis-
sioners allocated $50,000 for
small grants to local nonprof-
it groups that provide ser-
vices to people in need.
The small-grant program
will distribute up to $10,000
to organizations providing
help with transitional and
shelter housing, service to
the unsheltered and assis-
tance with rent, food and
utility bills.
Applications are due by
April 30. Details and forms
are available at co.clatsop.
or.us.
In addition, three agencies
will receive lump-sum grants:
The Harbor, $10,000; Help-
ing Hands, $20,000; and
Clatsop Community Action,
$20,000.
B eaCh Closures
Clatsop County closed ve-
hicle access to north-county
beaches, opening them for
residents only during the
week. The closure is to dis-
See ‘Coronavirus’ on Page 5
Heavy smoke pours across Tennant Way at the entrance to
Longview from Interstate 5 in this photo taken Monday morning by
Longview Fire Department.
Fire damages Longview company
An Easter-day fire that be-
gan in a bark-dust pile quick-
ly spread throughout the 80-
acre complex of a Longview
company that makes wood
products.
The fire was reported at
2:37 p.m. at Swanson Bark
and Wood Products adjacent
to the “Entering Longview”
welcome sign.
The company turns wood
waste into firewood, mulch,
bark dust, soil, and biomass.
There have been fires at the
facility in the past, according
to the Longview Fire Depart-
ment, because the large piles
create gas as a natural part of
the composting/decomposi-
tion process. Staff at Swan-
son use temperature probes
to assess the risk, and most
small fires are handled by on-
site staff.
This one got out of hand
quickly, however. Unfortu-
nately, Cowlitz County Fire
and Rescue was battling a
structure fire elsewhere and
another unit was at a brush
fire in rural Kelso.
The fire began spreading
from a large pile to adjacent
piles. There were strong
winds and access issues be-
cause of the multiple piles of
recyclables, smoke and visi-
bility challenges. The avail-
able water supply was low
and fire personnel were busy
elsewhere, the agency said.
The fire spread over the en-
tire 80-acre site, to buildings,
machinery, vehicles, and
conveyors.
Fire suppression efforts
ended about 4 a.m. Mon-
day, with dozens of bark
and wood-product piles still
smoldering, creating a smoke
cloud that remained over the
city Monday.
Swanson Bark and Wood
Products took over the over-
haul phase of the suppres-
sion, utilizing loaders and
excavators to move the prod-
uct while it was being extin-
guished.
Swanson also has contract-
ed with two helicopter ser-
vices to aid in the suppres-
sion.
The fire was expected to
smolder for days, Longview
Fire officials said, and if
winds pick up, could erupt
into flames again.
Firefighters from Longview,
Kalama, Cowlitz County, and
Woodland assisted.
The cause and damage esti-
mates weren’t available.
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