Foresight keeps fire quickly contained
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Fast action by local volunteers and agencies prevented a wildfire from destroying homes in the Klickitat River area north and west of Lyle.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire was completely contained within a perimeter of black or bare soil, and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) personnel were in mop-up mode.
Although officials have yet to determine the cause of the fire, area residents reported that a tree took down power lines near COR Cellars, one mile northwest of Lyle, setting grass on fire.
A second fire on the west side of Old Highway 8, just north of Highway 14 was quickly extinguished, but jumped to the east side of the highway. Centerville’s volunteer fire department arrived at the scene about 35 minutes after the initial call for assistance. They were initially assigned to attack a fire up Highway 8 that was consuming a barn, then were redirected back down the highway to fight the east side fire. That fire was also extinguished without spreading.
An investigation is looking at the cause and possible connection between the two fires. Wind gusts of 50 mph helped drive the fire out of control on the east side of Canyon Road and along the Klickitat River.
Washington Incident Commander Rex Reed complimented the volunteer fire departments and local agencies during a public meeting at the Lyle School on Sunday evening. “You should be very proud of the first responders,” said Reed. “It doesn’t get any better than what they did.”
All of the area rural districts provided mutual aid assistance on Thursday. The Level 2 Incident Management Team arrived at 8 a.m. on Friday and assumed control of the operation, releasing most of the volunteer fire departments.
Other agencies involved were the Bureau of India Affairs, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and U.S. Forest Service. The Klickitat County Sheriff’s office helped with evacuation notices and traffic control with the help of the Department of Transportation.
Highway 142 was closed until Sunday, from Highway 14 to three miles south of Klickitat. Fisher Hill Road was closed to Johnson Road and will be reopened once hazards have been removed.
Credit for the quick control also went to DNR which had mobilized resources in anticipation of the fire. According to Wyatt Leighton, Fire Management forester out of DNR offices in Goldendale, a red flag situation was declared based on fuel conditions and weather forecasts. “We brought in off duty staff, prepared the bulldozer at Husum, and moved helicopters from Ellensburg to Yakima and Wenatchee.” The helicopters were moved due to expected high winds, which would have kept them on the ground in Ellensburg. The moves proved to be critical. Several helicopters were on site Thursday afternoon and worked through Sunday. The bulldozer was on site quickly and established a line blocking the westward advance of the fire.
One of the first tasks for the team was determining where lines would be established to contain the fast moving fire. “Our goal was to contain the fire north and west of the Klickitat River, east of Canyon Road and south of Johnson Road,” said Ken McNamee, Alpine District manager out of Ellensburg.
Where structures and tall trees were involved, a minimum barrier of 300 feet was established with smaller lines stopping ground creep in grassy areas. The team burned out areas ahead of the fire and along the Klickitat River to consume fuel and stop the fire’s advance. More bulldozer lines were established north of the fire and crews dug out hand lines and laid hose to fight the fire.
At midday on Saturday the team reported that 583 people were involved, 19 engines and five helicopters. Forty homes were evacuated and many more were put on alert. The Red Cross responded, but reported that they had no takers for an overnight stay as people found help from friends and family.
Monday’s reports said 2,052 acres were affected and 694 people were involved.
Helicopters drew water from the Klickitat River in 240 gallon buckets to fight the fire beyond Fisher Hill Road while large, sky cranes sucked up nearly 2,000 gallons at a time through a snorkel, mainly drawing from the Columbia River.
Other key assets were tanker planes that flew out of Moses Lake as well as Redmond and Troudale in Oregon. The specially modified airplanes dropped fire retardant on Thursday and Friday, allowing the ground crews time to establish the lines. The retardant is essentially fertilizer with a dye. “Care was taken to avoid dropping it into the Klickitat River,” said Reed.
The central portion of the burned area is expected to smolder until heavy rains or snowfall extinguishes. No homes were lost and no injuries reported. Many acres of pasture were consumed, fences damage, cattle scattered and one barn burned during the early stages of the fire.
Donnie Strand, a fire behavior analyst from Colville, shared computer model generated maps on Sunday, which helped the team decide their plan of action. There were two maps generated at the fire science lab in Missoula. One showed the expected movement of the fire given the fuels, topography and weather data. The other gave a picture of how far the fire might spread over a seven day period without any intervention. There was an 80 percent probability that the fire would stay within the planned containment zone and a very slight probability it could spread all the way to Rock Creek Canyon, west of Goldendale.
A bit of a scare came with another fire call at milepost eight on the east side of Highway 142 on Monday afternoon. The fire was started by sparks from a trailer wheel bearing. Local departments and nearby DNR units quickly brought the fire under control before it could jump the canyon and become the next big thing.
As Sunday’s meeting drew to a conclusion, Harry Moss expressed sentiments that were clearly supported by the crowd. “I can’t come up with the right words of gratitude. [The fire team showed] the highest professionalism and greatest attitude. I came here tonight to say thank you.”
Funds raised at this Saturday’s Lions Club breakfast will go towards a fireman appreciation dinner Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lyle Community Center.
Election results show some early surprises
Rebecca Gourley
Reporter
The primary election has come to an end, with some final decisions already reached—and with Washington state setting a new voting record.
Turnout was high. The state broke the modern record for an election held in an even-numbered year without a presidential election, registering at this time a total turnout of 40.84 percent of all registered voters. Voting results are still being tallied, though, and state election officials predict a final result of 41 percent.
Klickitat County landed about in the middle of individual county turnout with 49.06 percent. The highest was Wahkiakum County with 64 percent; the lowest was Pierce County with 35.3 percent.
Locally, Rick Hansen has run away with the race for East District Court Judge with 1,641 votes (55.61 percent). According to RCW 29A.36.171, “if a candidate in a contested primary receives a majority of all the votes cast for that office or position, only the name of that candidate may be printed under the title of the office for that position” on the general election ballot. This also works for other positions as well; the office of Justice of the Supreme Court, Judge of the Court of Appeals, judge of the Superior Court, or State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
“I was both surprised and gratified that I received enough support to be the only one named on the ballot in November,” said Hansen.
In other races, the candidates have received close to the name percentage of votes. In the assessor’s race, Darlene Johnson got just under 100 votes more than Victoria Allen; 2,124 compared to 2,043. That is less than a two-percent difference. No other race came so close between the top two candidates.
The other races that have been narrowed down to two candidates are as follows: Patty Murray and Dino Rossi for U.S. Senator, Doc Hastings and Jay Clough for U.S. Representative, Darlene Johnson and Victoria Allen for Assessor, Lori Hoctor and Craig Juris for Prosecuting Attorney, and Richard Sanders and Charlie Wiggins for Justice Position 6.
Hospital CEO announces departure
MaLisa Mudgett has notified the Klickitat Valley Health Board of Directors that she will be resigning as the hospital’s CEO effective in October.
Mudgett informed the Board and KVH staff that “my time, relationships, challenges, and accomplishments at KVH have all been enjoyable, and my reasons for leaving are personal. I will be relocating to the Seattle area to continue my education, to explore new work opportunities, and to engage in a more committed personal relationship. I have some flexibility in my plans, so the exact date of my departure as CEO is not yet determined.”
Mudgett has been the CEO at Klickitat Valley Health since July 2009.
KVH Board President John Quinn said, “The KVH Board will select a new CEO as soon as possible. A search committee is being established, advertising will be done, and networking contacts will be made to ensure the best possible transition. There may be a need for an acting or interim CEO depending on the length of the search process.”
Ron Ihrig, KVH Board Member and former Board President, said “We appreciate the leadership that MaLisa has provided at KVH for the last year. KVH is in a much better position today than it was when she started. She will be missed.” |
