Fires keep crews busy around county
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
It was a busy day across south central Klickitat County Thursday, as three fires started within two hours of each other, stretching crews from Centerville to Roosevelt.
The first call went out at 11:09 a.m. for a grass fire 13 miles east of Highway 97 on Hoctor Road, in the Goodnoe Hills. Crews from Rural 7, Centerville, Roosevelt and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) responded. The fire spread in two directions, consuming a stand of oak trees but was contained to about 14 acres.
The second call came at 12:43 p.m. for a grass fire northwest of Centerville around the junction of Harms Road and Finn Ridge Road. A towering plume of smoke was visible from Goldendale, against the blue sky. The fire started around a farm shop where a combine head was being worked on with a grinder. According to Centerville Fire Chief Dave Brotherton, there was no fire extinguisher, water, or shovel at hand when sparks ignited grass around the combine and it quickly took off after attempts to stamp it out failed. Some nearby wheat was consumed by the fire, but a northwest breeze pushed the fire through dry grass pasture and eventually into Conservation Reserve Program acres.
About 10 acres were already burned when crews arrived, including grass around the shop and equipment, none of which were seriously damaged. Fire departments from Centerville, Rural 7, Wishram, Lyle, and High Prairie fought the blaze, keeping it from jumping Finn Ridge Road and from further progress to the east or west. Approximately 213 acres burned. Forty people and 19 engines helped fight the fire and two bulldozers were on hand to establish a clear zone around the fire. One of the bulldozers was from Rural 7 and the other was volunteered by Goldendale resident, Tom Ireland.
Brotherton said the department would determine whether to refer the incident to the Sheriff's Office for citation. "Typically we don't bill unless it involves criminal activity or gross negligence," said Brotherton. If that determination is made and the Sheriff issues a citation, it would be up to the County Prosecutor to prosecute. The county fire chiefs determine the billing rate for equipment and people. Brotherton said the Centerville Fire Department cost for this fire is around $30,000.
At 1 p.m., while crews were busy west of Centerville, a third, more serious call went out for a structure fire in Roosevelt. With Roosevelt crews fighting the Goodenoe Hills fire, the fire department was short-handed in town, but plenty of help soon arrived.
Two homes were burning when crews arrived. According to fire commissioner, Jason Blain, the fire started in or around a shed between the two houses. One home was a total loss and the other is uninhabitable, but might be salvaged. Mutual aid from Bickleton and Alderdale came to the fire and there were many more residents and volunteers helping out from the area. While nearby home owners hosed down their houses, and estimated 150 people were involved in fighting the fires. Water trucks from the Harvest Wind, wind generator project, Roosevelt Regional Landfill and Goodfellows Brothers, who were working with water trucks in support of the wind generator projects, all assisted.
The cause of the fire has not been determined. Sheriff Rick McComas was on the scene, but the Sheriff's Office could release no details about the fire or the homeowners who were affected.
The Roosevelt and Centerville fires were out by 7 p.m. DNR crews will continue to monitor the Goodenoe Hills site to ensure no future flare up occurs. Simultaneous fires are not particularly common, and at least this time, the volunteer departments and other volunteers were able to cope. A county-wide burn ban is in effect and the public is reminded to take all precautions against fire at this time of year. A bucket of water might have made a big difference in the Centerville fire.
City Council creates Transportation Benefit District
Lou Marzeles
News Editor
Goldendale came ever so close to landing a battery manufacturer at its long-idle aluminum plant, City Administrator Larry Bellamy said at Monday evening's Goldendale City Council meeting.
The deal for the battery maker, based in Massachusetts, was "in the bag," Bellamy said. But at the last minute, Massachusetts offered the company a deal it couldn't refuse.
Bellamy also disclosed that talks are proceeding with the Economic Development Committee in regard to bringing another major company to Goldendale proper (not to the aluminum plant). The identity of that company could not presently be revealed. And evidently, according to Bellamy's report, there is still a lot more wind farm work ahead for the area.
Other developments from the meeting included the establishment of a Transportation Benefit District for the city, which establishes the district but does not impose any taxes or fees at this time. The creation of the district follows enactment of state legislature allowing for them as a vehicle of generating revenues for transportation-related operations and improvements. The first step in that process is the establishment of a district, which was accomplished Monday evening, and then at a later time the issue of setting fees or taxes will be brought to the community.
The city also officially hired Connie Byers as its Clerk-Treasurer in its business Monday evening. "This is using our own people," Mayor Arletta Parton said of the move. Byers has worked for the city for several years.
Plans were discussed to change parking regulations around Goldendale schools, to provide for no parking on adjoining streets from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. each day. The measure would provide ready access for cleaning vehicles during those times. The city wants to enact the plan by the time school starts next month.
There was discussion of contention between some city residents over the cutting of tree limbs when they cross a neighbor's property line. Such an issue, it was noted, is a civil matter, and any property owner has the right to cut limbs back to the property line when they impinge on the owner's side of the line.
In a move that prompted moderate discussion over its appropriateness, Bishop Red Rock owner Edgar Holbrook appeared before the council to discuss his Lorena Butte mine. Objections were voiced by some council members that the matter did not warrant the city's involvement, since the mine is wholly under the jurisdiction of Klickitat County and subject to compliance oversight by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Both those agencies have cited Holbrook's operation as being out of compliance with their permit guidelines. Holbrook was invited to the council meeting by a council member and in the end was allowed to speak.
Holbrook addressed issues of what he cited as primary concerns about the mine to the Goldendale community, assuring, for example, that the large letter "G" on its north face would not disappear. "There's a dirt berm hiding the open pit," Holbrook added, addressing the concern that the mine should not be visible from public roads. Council member Tom Cuff indicated that he considered there should be no dirt visible. Holbrook responded that according to the original permit granted to the mine's earlier operator, that was true. Cuff asked Holbrook if he was currently in compliance with county and state requirements, to which Holbrook responded, "I'm pretty close to being in compliance with the county; I'm definitely not with the state." He added that he considered the present situation a good opportunity to get all concerned on the same page and that he welcomed the process. He also cited the financial benefit his mine operation provides to the area, in the way of jobs and local purchases.
Sentinel's community talk group discusses city focus on clean-up
Lou Marzeles
News Editor
Good coffee and good company brought together a lively discussion of Goldendale's future at Friday's Java Talk community discussion program, hosted by The Sentinel.
Nine people showed up for the conversation at Sodbusters restaurant, including Goldendale Mayor Arletta Parton, who opened the discussion with a call for the area to get serious about cleaning up the city.
"We provided a free garbage pickup day," the mayor said. "When they got to my house at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, I went out there and said, 'Why are you guys so early?' They said, 'Because nobody has anything out.' They had hardly anything to pick up that day. I thought, 'Come on, people. This is free.' I don't understand it."
Fixing up Goldendale turned out to the primary focus of the meeting's conversation, prompted by recent news, also mentioned at Monday night's city council meeting, that a major company was looking into the possibility of moving to the area. (The company has asked that its name remain undisclosed for the time being.)
"We've got to get the town cleaned up if we're going to be a destination," the mayor said at the Java Talk meeting. "We're not going to attract good businesses if we don't." Her reference to making Goldendale a destination was to a day-long meeting on April 25 at which area businesses came together with planning experts to discuss ways to make Goldendale not just a "gateway," as its slogan said, to another destination, but rather a destination unto itself.
"But there are some people who just don't want the town to change," said another meeting attendee. "We used to have all these meetings with planning sessions," he said. "We realized that there were some in those meetings who were just dead-ends in terms of discussing change for the city."
There followed conversation about the apparent intractability of some area residents and businesses. "It seems to be that some people don't feel comfortable getting on the improvement bandwagon," one person said, "for fear that their own interests won't be adequately protected." The group collectively agreed, after some discussion, that in the end, no one's interests would be adequately protected if the city didn't come together.
An attendee stated that he felt it the city might be trying to put the cart before the horse in regards to fixing up the city before major new businesses come to it. "I think it's a matter not of, if you build it they will come, but rather, if they come we will build it," he said. "We don't really have the cash to put money into projects before businesses have agreed to come here. If they agree to come here, I think there'd be a lot of action." An alternative view was expressed that nonetheless the city needs to be appealing before a business would want to come.
The city is soon to receive its final reports from the April 25th meeting, and in it will be records of the several committees formed at that time around various improvement projects organized by high, medium, and low priorities. Discussion Friday went into what it would take for the work to get done.
The next Java Talk meeting is this Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Sodbusters restaurant. |
