Editorial

A job well done

At 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, we all thought we had a major tragedy on our hands. The Cache Mountain fire had swept into Black Butte Ranch. The Ranch was evacuated and homes were burning.

It looked like the whole northwest corner of the Ranch was going to go up in smoke.

That didn't happen, thanks to some extraordinarily courageous and skillful firefighting by the Black Butte Ranch Rural Fire Protection District.

Two homes were consumed by flames when the spot fires blew up into a firestorm. Set amid the woods, with shake roofs, those houses never had a chance.

But just across Fiddleneck Lane, firefighters made a stand, facing intense heat and towering flames, and saved homes that law enforcement personnel were sure were gone.

In all, BBR firefighters, assisted by Sisters personnel and crews from agencies across Central Oregon, saved 84 homes in the area where the fire penetrated the Ranch.

It was a job well done and Fire Chief Ed Sherrell and his firefighters deserve the gratitude of the Black Butte Ranch community.

The emergency services on the fire and throughout the Sisters community have performed admirably, without any injuries or accidents.

We have heard some concerns raised about the timeliness of evacuation orders. It does appear that the situation developed much faster than planners had aniticpated.

According to Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony, fires have been overriding worst-case-scenario planning repeatedly across the West this year.

Although the evacuation was rushed, it went smoothly -- as smoothly as the veteran Northwest Rockies Incident Management Team has ever seen, according to commander Bob Sandman.

Hats off to all.