THE DALLES, Ore. — A year after a large fire ripped through the wheat fields south of The Dalles, the harvest is underway and life is moving on.
The fire began July 17, 2018 on private property and not far from an electrical substation. That’s how it got the name Substation Fire. It quickly became a monster.
Pushed by howling winds, the flames consumed dry fields of wheat and sage brush as it traveled 18 miles on the first day.
It eventually destroyed 78,425 acres.
Farmer Paul Schanno lost 1,100 acres of wheat and 40 miles of fencing and posts.
He was insured and said insurance paid for his loss.
Because of the way most fields are rotated, the burned fields were planted with cover crops to hold the soil in place and will be planted with wheat in the coming fall.
But even on those burned fields it's hard to tell anything happened. Nature moves fast here.
And on the fields that did not burn, it's time for the harvest.
“Mother nature makes it so you can go back and do it again. We keep doing it again until we lose everything we think,” Schanno said with a grin.
The fire destroyed an estimated $12 million worth of wheat last year and took the life of one man.
John Ruby, 64, died as he used a tractor to cut a fire break near a neighbor’s home.
The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the cause. They said something caused a spark which ignited the fire and it was not weather-related.
The fire brought two actions by state government. One is a new state law that protects volunteers who run in to help during a fire from liability if something goes wrong.
Secondly, Oregon Governor Kate Brown created the Wild Fire Response Council to study whether Oregon has enough equipment and is properly prepared to respond to fires. The council is expected to report back to the governor next month.