11/11/2022 0 Comments Encased basketballThey brought in heavy equipment, including dozers and track hoes, which helped quickly build fire lines as additional fire agencies responded.Īs of Sept. "We pre-plan by going out, looking at our areas, getting brush cleared, having homeowners clear and make defensible space around their homes, so if a fire does happen, we have a little bit more chance to get in and deal with it," said Alan Lashbrook, assistant fire chief of the Estacada Fire Department.ĭespite the fire being contained Saturday morning, evacuation orders remained in effect until Sunday afternoon.Ĭlackamas County public safety agencies noted high winds meant the McIver State Park fire was at risk of reigniting or spreading, making it unsafe for residents to return to their homes right away.Īssistance from local residents was key to contain the fire early, said Izak Hamilton, spokesperson for the Clackamas Fire District. Also, Estacada-area property owners had been hard at work clearing brush and fuel from their land in advance. With more money from Senate Bill 672, passed by the Legislature in 2021, local fire departments have more resources for such crises. One difference from two years ago is the addition of the new Estacada Fire District, which was keeping a close tab on the weather and had additional firefighters on standby for the weekend who were ready to respond quickly. That fire, spurred by high winds, burned more than 1 million acres, destroyed 4,000 homes, killed at least 11 people, and shrouded the Portland area in hazardous smoke for days.Ī D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below This year's blaze comes two years after nearly half a million acres burned from the Labor Day fires in 2020 and as rebuilding in and around Estacada is still underway. That fire, which was out by Saturday morning, saw 12 fire agencies assist, including Portland Fire & Rescue, which dealt with its own small roadside fires at least twice during the high fire danger weekend. 9 and 10, when a nearby wildfire at Milo McIver State Park ignited Friday evening and spread to 25 acres, filling the region's skies with smoke. Several fires already were burning in the state when winds were forecast to increase.Įstacada-area residents in Clackamas County were forced to evacuate on Friday and Saturday, Sept. The wildfire threat was clearly real this month. They are likely to happen a lot more in the future. Before then they only happened on a few occasions in 20 under a temporary rule. They are allowed under a new Wildfire Mitigation Plan that was adopted in May of this year. The outages - officially known as Public Safety Power Shutoffs - were intended to reduce the risks of wildfires in hot and dry conditions when strong winds are forecast. The answer is yes, because they were authorized by the Public Utility Commission that regulates electric and other utilities. Some customers might have wondered if outages were even legal. PGE said that required 500 operational personnel, including 112 contractors, working around the clock. 11, after winds died down enough for crews to inspect the lines. Some people were only notified a few hours in advance.Īll power was restored by Sunday, Sept. Pacific Power did the same thing in other parts of the Willamette Valley on a smaller scale. The proactive outages eventually spread to 17 areas and affected more that 38,000 customers. Portland General Electric voluntarily cut off power to those living and working in the city's wooded westside upper heights, even as temperatures were expected to soar to the high 90s over the weekend. Ice and snow encased tree branches frequently fall and break power lines.īut what happened the weekend of Sept. Residents and businesses in the hills of Southwest and Northwest Portland are used to losing power during the winter. Climate change is creating longer, drier fire seasons with more high wind dangers.
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