Photos/Story by Chris Zorn
Firefighters from Umatilla and Morrow counties drew on
resources from across Oregon and into Washington to battle a northern
Umatilla County blaze that spread over nine miles and 5,000 acres Saturday, July 28.
Meanwhile, just across the state border to the northeast, Washington
firefighters tackled another 5,000-acre blaze near Wallula Junction, with
smoke closing parts of Highway 12 in that area.
That second fire began as several small track-side fires ignited by a train,
which grew together into one big fire that had burned just sagebrush as of
late Saturday evening.
The Umatilla County fire is believed to have started in a hog fuel pile on
the west side of the Port of Umatilla Industrial Park, three miles east of
the Interstate 82 bridge. Lenore Pointer, emergency management spokeswoman,
said the fire started at about 1 p.m.
Occupants of 50 homes at Hat Rock State Park and along Salmon Point Lane were
advised to evacuate as strong winds pushed the fire eastward from the port.
Firefighters from surrounding communities were unable to keep up with the
flames, so Umatilla authorities asked for assistance from the state through
the emergency Conflagration Act.
That produced two task forces from Union,
Wasco and Hood River counties.
Benton County in Washington also offered assistance. More than 100
firefighters continued battling the blaze throughout the evening.
Ground
crews were joined by a Forest Service helicopter, which began dumping buckets
of water on several of the 20 flaming log decks at the port.
Boise Cascade owns the Umatilla Chip Mill where the fire originated.
The
cause is unknown. Pointer said, "Sometimes fires start from hog fuel, but we
don't know if that's what happened here."
About three hours after the fire started, Umatilla Fire Chief Mike Roxbury
said, "We're losing ground."
Fire crews only could examine the burning decks up close for a few minutes at
a time because of the intense heat radiating from the blazing logs.
By 10:30 p.m., the fire was most intense near J&M Manufacturing, where the
main concern was keeping it from millions of feet of PVC piping, Roxbury
said. Some of the pipes lit up but were extinguished, reported officials, who
were still trying to protect the pipes late Saturday night.
A chip pile at the mill also was still burning late Saturday night.
Earlier
in the day, burning embers from the chips carried by the winds ignited
wildland fires that threatened homes miles away, Roxbury said.
Firefighters were hampered by a lack of diesel fuel to keep their trucks
running. Water was pumped from an on-site storage tank at 4,000 gallons per
minute.
Roger Frances, public works superintendent for the city of Umatilla, said by
5 p.m. firefighters had tapped into a quarter of the port's stored water
supply.
"We are asking people to conserve as much water as possible. We're losing
ground right now," he said.
Pointer said there is no loss estimate at this point. She said fire damaged
three outbuildings and lots of logs.
Two Rivers Correctional Institution,
which is about a quarter-mile from the burning log decks, was not evacuated.
There were no reported injuries as of 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Roxbury said he had called and told prison officials the fire would likely
burn right around the correctional facility. Roxbury said inmates should be
safe since they are housed in concrete buildings.
Another concern at the facility is an insulated propane tank.
Besides Boise Cascade and J&M Manufacturing, the only other port business
endangered was Oregon Rustic, a log-furniture company.
General Manager Jeff Hale said the company has $2 million worth of equipment
at the site and about $150,000 in inventory.
"I'm hoping it doesn't cross the road from the log deck," Hale said. Some of
the log decks were 21-2 years old and brittle, he said.
Resident Floyd Turnbull chose not to flee the flames. The Hermiston
chiropractor turned back from a day trip to the boat races in the Tri-Cities
when he saw the blaze at the port.
Turnbull reached his home on Salmon Point
Lane overlooking the Columbia River just in time to see the fire leap up the
100-foot vertical cliff and race toward his neighbor's home.
Turnbull used a 11'2-inch fire hose set up specifically for fires to pour
water on the blaze, extinguishing it within inches of his neighbor's
250-gallon propane tank.
The neighbor, said Turnbull, was on a trip out of state and unaware of the
fire.
Firefighters rolled down his lane late in the afternoon, dousing hot spots,
while Turnbull watched for airborne embers and kept his fire hose at ready.
"The firefighters have done a marvelous job, I'm not worried at all about
staying here tonight," Turnbull said. An anemometer on his roof measured a
gust of 40 mph, he said.
Firefighters from Umatilla, Hermiston, Boardman, Irrigon, Pilot Rock, Echo,
Stanfield and Pendleton responded to the fire.
They were joined by Benton
County and a task force from the three Oregon counties.
Some of the firefighters from Hermiston and Stanfield had been on fires
throughout Saturday night.
Pointer said firefighters would be given food and shelter at McNary Heights
Elementary School, so they could continue battling the blaze until it was
contained and extinguished. American Red Cross officials were at the scene
offering assistance.
Meanwhile, the Wallula Junction fire began about 5 p.m. Saturday in the Port
Kelley area near the Oregon border and east of the Columbia River.
It has
spread mostly east and a little north.
No homes had been threatened as of late Saturday evening, said Tom Deccio,
911 supervisor at the Walla Walla County dispatchers' office. One
recreational vehicle park was evacuated.
Several fire departments from Walla Walla, Benton and Franklin counties were
fighting the fire Saturday evening.
An airplane and helicopters might be
called in today to drop water and fire retardant on the flames, Deccio said.
