Flames force evacuations in The Dalles, (East of Portland, Oregon)

Oregon Live/ AP ^ | 7/26/02 4:04 AM | Flames force evacuations in The Dalles

[Grampa Dave]

This is a new area for these fires.

Looks like no part of Oregon is safe!

Thanks to the Green Terrorist Thugs and their agendas to make every forest and wildland in Oregon into tinder boxes, Green Terrorism via their tool of fire is rampant in Oregon.

[Grampa Dave]

For your info.

[Grampa Dave]

I hope that you and your family are okay!

[Grampa Dave]

FYI!

Now the fires are up north closer to the Portland metro area.

[Grampa Dave]

This is the latest from KGW TV. They don't have an update this morning yet:

Lightning Strikes Have Firefighters on Edge
07/25/2002

By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff


A wildfire outside of The Dalles exploded out of control late Thursday, and fire officials were recommending that outlying residents begin evacuating.


The Sheldon Ridge Fire was menacing homes on its northeast corner. Wasco County urged residents living on Wells Road, Upper Cherry Heights Road and Brown Creek Road to flee. The area encompasses more than three miles.


The Portland Fire Bureau also was sending 16 firefighters to battle the fire, along with three fire engines. Gresham also was sending an engine, and Corbett was sending a water tender.


Throughout the day, lightning strikes and threatening winds had kept fire officials on high alert across eastern and central Oregon.


The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland recorded about 900 lightning strikes between 6 a.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, said spokesman David Widmark.


The coordination center is focusing its aerial, satellite and ground surveillance on eastern Oregon around the Blue Mountains and an area of Oregon between Bend and The Dalles.


“When these lightning strikes go through, we track them on radar,” Widmark said. “We know where they’re at. That’s where we send observation aircraft and initial attack crews to go and patrol this area.”


The trouble is, lightning-sparked fires can smolder undetected for days or even weeks. When the humidity is low and the heat is high, “that sucker’ll kick off,” Widmark said.



A Sikorsky helicopter maneuvers over smoke-filled trees on the Cache Mountain Fire while battling one of Oregon's newest wildfires near Sisters. (AP Photo)

That scenario has played repeatedly this fire season. Thirteen major fires are burning 220,000 acres in Oregon (see map below).


Some 250,000 acres are ablaze in Oregon and Washington. About 10,379 firefighters are in Oregon battling the blazes.


The 2002 fire season, which is turning out to be worse than last year's, has cost about $55 million. Widmark warned the fire season will likely extend into mid-September.


When fire officials aren’t worrying about lightning, they’re concerned about the wind, which whip small blazes into infernos.


A lot of it is headed for eastern Oregon this afternoon, said Bruce Sussman, a KGW meteorologist.

Cooler temperatures washing in from the Pacific Ocean are driving winds to the east. Gusts could go to 30 miles per hour, Sussman said.

The good news is that cooler temperatures will aid firefighters, and the thunderstorms should taper off by this weekend.


Until then, firefighters aren’t “getting a break from the thunderstorms like they did (Wednesday) morning,” Sussman said. “They’re happening right now.”


Sheldon Ridge


The coordination center is mustering firefighters about six miles south of Mosier, Oregon to battle the 150 acre Sheldon Ridge wildfire. Because the fire could menace 400 homes if it isn't controlled, Sheldon Ridge is the No. 1 concern for fire officials.


So far, the wildfire is threatening up to 15 cabins. Lightning started the Sheldon Ridge blaze on Wednesday.

[Grampa Dave]

Here is the latest National Fire Map. Remember this was probably put together last night.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Prayers for friends and family out there; know some folks in the Dalles. Thanks for the info. I hadn't seen this yet.

[Grampa Dave]

Here is last night's NOAH Fire Image Map. Remember this was taken at 7 pm last night.

[WaterDragon]

The liberals in Oregon would be blaming these fires on the Republicans if they could, but since the Democrats are totally to blame, they don't want to even DISCUSS blame!

[Grampa Dave]

The Green Eco Terrorist Fire in the Sequoias is still burning out of control. Here is the NOAA image from last night:

[Grampa Dave]

Every innocent citizen (those who are not card carrying Green Eco Terrorists) in Oregon needs our prayers until the winter rains start.

The Green Eco Terrorists have placed about everyone and every animal/bird and fish in Oregon in a clear and present danger with their agendas of no roads, no logging, no removal of dead trees and no brush clearing.

They are far more dangerous to any Innocent Oregonian than the al Qaeda thugs/terrorists!

[Grampa Dave]

Liberals never discuss the blame when their agendas kill, maim or financially ruin innocent people.

It is our task to expose them as the prime cause of this hell on earth that used to be Oregon.

Starting with the Enviral Poster Boy Governor, Andy Kerr, the elite rulers of the Oregon Natural Resources Center, and all card carrying enviralists in Oregon, the blame must be centered and focused right on them until they lose their power and phoney prestige!

Then, the mediots who own and control the fish wraps and tv stations in Oregon are guilty of presenting the Watermelon agenda as the best thing for Oregonians. Now we see that the Watermelon agenda has made Oregon into a living hell.

[Dan12180]

I have a son on staff at Camp Baldwin (a Boy Scout camp) about 35 miles south-west of The Dalles. There are scouts there as well as staff.

Does anyone have any specific info on the area of the fire?

Thanks.

Vickey

[Grampa Dave]

This is the NOAA shot from the evening of 24 July. Note that any new fires after 7 pmish on 24 July are not shown in this picture. The situation is far worse than these pictures show!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I know they dried up alot of the creeks, streams and rivers with their fish repopulation plan of the 70s and 80s. They passed laws to air drop trees into the waterways to provide habitat. Turns out it backfired and they had to have these HUGE trees airlifted out again. In the meantime, trees that fell and decayed naturally were blocked from moving due to the changes these people made.

Now the only fish around those parts are stocked fish. It's ridiculous.

You can't play God and have things go smoothly. They have made a mess of things.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Camp Baldwin near Dufur is run by the Portland office of BSA.

Here is their info, you might call and ask.

2145 SW Naito Parkway,
Portland, OR 97201
Tel. (503) 226-3423
Fax (503) 225-5733
Vancouver, WA - Tel. (360) 693-1741

[RedBloodedAmerican]

My gosh, that is so sad. Almost glad my dad isn't alive to see this stuff going on these days. Well, wish he was here, but know he would be heartbroke. He loved the outdoors and the Cascades.

[Carry_Okie]

Seems as if our urbinyups have turned greenbelts into blackbelts. Next thing you know they'll bring us martial law.

[B Knotts]

I hope that you and your family are okay!

Thanks! Yeah, we're fine! We're about 50 miles west of that fire, which doesn't sound like that much, but we're on the other side of the Pacific crest. It rained here this morning. Hopefully, some of the rain will make it over there to help control that fire, but they get a lot less rain than we do (approx. 80"/year here vs around 10"/year in The Dalles).

[Grampa Dave]

Vickey, you need to get on the phone STAT to find out if they are involved.

I don't have the numbers, but the OSP and the local forestry service people should be able to provide data.

I'm sending this Freep Mail to you to insure that you get it.

Our info here is hours late.

Take care and you need to really monitor the situation.

Dave