Grass fire at depot not a threat
By KAREN HUTCHINSON-TALASKI
The Hermiston Herald
A range fire burned 150 acres on the Umatilla Chemical Depot Monday afternoon, apparently started by a lightning strike near the railroad tracks on the southwest corner of the depot.
Bruce Henrickson, Army public affairs spokesman, said the fire started about 2:15 p.m. and was contained by 5:30 Monday evening. Small flare-ups continued to plague depot firefighters. Hermiston and Irrigon fire departments assisted in fighting the blaze. It was several miles from the chemical agent disposal facility, Henrickson said.
"It appears to have started by lightning the night before last. It smoldered overnight and erupted Monday afternoon," Henrickson said Tuesday. "It was a stubborn fire."
The fire headed toward several empty igloos; however, there was no danger of a chemical accident. Even if the igloos had been involved in the fire, it would have been impossible to burn them because they are made of steel and concrete and then covered with earth, Henrickson said. The igloos where agent is stored has a "clear" zone around them so that fire would not reach them easily.
The depot was not evacuated, Henrickson said. He added that the depot fights several fires during the fire season because of the nature of the vegetation.
"We have a wonderful nature reserve," he said. "We have taller sage than everywhere else because it has not been disturbed since the 1940s." |
