Close call

[Brittany Chukarman]

Like a lot of the West, Oregon is burning up. Monday and Tuesday lightning hit our region. Initially we had 10 fires that they call the Badlands Complex. The two fires closest to us were the Timber Canyon and Powder River. We saw two strikes that instantly burst into flames. I fought it Monday and Tuesday with my backpack sprayer. I did pretty good in the dry grass but when it would hit a sage I had to move on then try to fall back when it burned down. The fire moved to the East overnight but Tuesday there was a flareup I climbed up to fight. I was trying to stop it from hitting the bottom of Timber Canyon and coming our way. It was just too steep and rocky and the weight of the water kept me off balance. I had to quit while I could still make it down the hill. After 3 trips up I was all in. I made it back to the 4 wheeler and went home to let my neighbor know I failed and we got ready to evacuate. The fire kept creeping down the canyon. Out of nowhere a big chopper showed up. There's an irrigation diversion dam on my place. He lowered a bucket down, filled it with water and headed for the fire line I was fighting. It was a steep slope so he could really spot his dumps well. He made about a dozen trips and put it completely out. We are out of immediate danger but there is still a big one SW of us. They have made good progress on it the last 2 days. We have so much respect for fire fighters.

 

[p_ham]

Bad news. Do you have any fire breaks cut?

 

[Paul in Idaho]

That sounds bad. Glad you made it home safe and that the chopper arrived to put out the fire.

 

[Gellar]

Good to hear you are safe! May your luck continue!

 

[FairWeather]

Stay safe!

 

[BAKPAKR]

The fire crews certainly get my respect. My brother went into Hells Canyon one year to check on his cabin due to a fire. He was relieved to find a crew camped out on his deck and a fireline cut behind his cabin.

There was a nearby fire recently. In the photo below, you can see the retardant line (reddish color on the left and in the upper middle).

 

[44hunter45]

Whoa Gary! Glad that worked out.

We had lightning Wednesday night and several blow-ups. The couple closest to us were plowed out by wheat farmers.
The Gwen fire is the big news around here. It has blown up to over 35,000 in the last 24 hours. It only started on Wednesday. It is running hard east on both shores of the Clearwater river upstream of Lewiston. Highway 12 has been re-opened far enough east to allow folks to make the 95 South junction at Spaulding/Lapwai. Highway 3 remains closed. IDL took over management today.

It has hopped several lines so far. Thankfully the winds have calmed today.

That wet spring was great. Now the bill comes due.

All of Juliaetta was evac'ed. We heard they may be allowed back home today. There has been significant structure loss.

 

[BAKPAKR]

Whoa Gary! Glad that worked out.

We had lightning Wednesday night and several blow-ups. The couple closest to us were plowed out by wheat farmers.
The Gwen fire is the big news around here. It has blown up to over 35,000 in the last 24 hours. It only started on Wednesday. It is running hard east on both shores of the Clearwater river upstream of Lewiston. Highway 12 has been re-opened far enough east to allow folks to make the 95 South junction at Spaulding/Lapwai. Highway 3 remains closed. IDL took over management today.

It has hopped several lines so far. Thankfully the winds have calmed today.

That wet spring was great. Now the bill comes due.

All of Juliaetta was evac'ed. We heard they may be allowed back home today. There has been significant structure loss.

The smoke in this photo was from the Gwen Fire on Thursday. Due to our proximity, evacuation messages were popping up on our phones. It was kind of eerie. I felt sorry for the people who were affected.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Bad news. Do you have any fire breaks cut?

Green irrigated pasture on 2 sides, river in front and running 1.5" gun cart sprinklers on a dry field behind.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

We were watching this storm coming up from Burns and John Day on a site called real time lightning strikes. It moved fast. There were 2800 recorded strikes in SW Idaho and SE Oregon.

 

[Salmonchaser]

We were worried about you, glad they got that knocked down for you. We have some friends ranching south of Huntington. They lost all their grass, bunch of cattle-still looking for quite a few and their out buildings and line shacks.

 

[deer_shooter]

Glad you are ok and in the clear. Stay well.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

You're living one of my worst fears man. Glad you're safe


Have you been soaking the land around your house with a sprinkler at all? Might not make a difference, or just might make all the difference, ya never know but something simple that can been done

 

[belshawelk]

Living in E Oregon it is always scary. Fire is 20 miles from me. We lived through the Canyon Complex a few years ago. Lots of homes lost and we were level 3 get out immediately. Grabbed the mounts and a few other things. Fire stopped 1/8 mile from house. Very political in Oregon. Not allowing dead wood to be harvested and continual lawsuits on forestry make it a tinderbox. Then add governors who won’t allocate proper resources. You’re really only safe after the fires that create a natural break for a few years. Just depends how hot fire was.

 

[JustinsDad]

You are a stud to battle it with a backpack sprayer. Glad it worked out.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

You are a stud to battle it with a backpack sprayer. Glad it worked out.

No, just a 5'4" 145lb broken down 71 yr old. It's just when something like that happens you have to reach deep inside yourself to get things done. Funny, I quit chukar hunting that spot because the climb got too hard.

 

[Salmonchaser]

We got almost a quarter inch of rain last night in Grande Ronde valley. Did you get any over there?

 

[kyledoskocil]

Stay safe out there! Seems like they are popping up everywhere now

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

We got almost a quarter inch of rain last night in Grande Ronde valley. Did you get any over there?

Some but more south of us which was good for the Durkee and Thompson fires. Standing puddles in Baker. The crews are making good progress now.

 

[Phaseolus]

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