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Massive Effort Continues To Control And Contain Holiday Farm Fire

Brian Bull
/
KLCC

Mop-up operations on the Holiday Farm Fire are incorporating roughly a thousand firefighters from 18 states and Canada. It’s all part of a coordinated push to contain the fire as the weather stays cool and rainy.

About a dozen firefighters with the Oregon Air National Guard are dousing charred stumps in an area north of Vida. They also use tools called pulaskis to dig up or break apart roots that can feed heat underground, eventually sparking new fires if left alone.

Captain Miles Dodge of Crew 72 oversees the operation.

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
A firefighter with the Oregon Air National Guard uses a bladder bag to soak a hot root found under a burnt out tree trunk.

“We are mopping up a hot spot that’s at the base of this burnt-out trunk. The member down there right now is feeling for the significantly hot places with the back of his hands, so he doesn’t injure his hand," explained Dodge.

"And then we have a bladder bag here with some water to cool it down if it gets too hot.”

More and more residents are being allowed back home this week. Though many are warned to be cautious of damaged trees that could fall and injure people.

Copyright 2020, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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