C O V E R
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W I L D F I R E
Richard Mathews inspects a decorative metal cutout his son made for him years ago. It’s the only keepsake that survived the fire.
“TRIAL BY FIRE,” CONTINUED... Glenn Kohler, a wildfire spokesman with the Department of Natural Resources, explains that the Carlton Complex summoned its fury from four separate fires — the Cougar Flat Fire, French Creek Fire, Gold Hikes Fire and Stokes Fire. “It was four little ones,” Kohler says, “and then it turned into one big one.” Authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 1,000 homes as well as the small communities of Pateros, Brewster and Carlton. As residents have returned in recent days, about 300 families have found their homes destroyed. Countless miles of charred cars, burnt power poles and scorched orchards line roadways. Despite the unbelievable destruction,
just one fatality has been confirmed. Retired state trooper Robert Koczewski, 67, succumbed to a heart attack while trying to save his home. It’s been 112 years since the state has suffered such a massive fire. Records show the Yacolt Burn of 1902 killed 38 people, destroyed at least 146 homes and blackened 238,920 acres of southwestern Washington. President Obama signed an emergency declaration last week providing federal aid for regional firefighting efforts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it would provide disaster funding to field camps, equipment, tools and mobilization expenses.
FRIDAY 8/1 6:30 PM
YOKES $1 FAMILY FEAST
B
All Cloverdale Hotdogs, Pepsi and Ice Cream Sandwiches are only $1. Play Coeur dÕAlene Casino Baseball Bingo during the game. Plus Coors Light Post-Game Concert. sponsored by:
-FREE PARKING24 INLANDER JULY 31, 2014
vs. HILLSBORO HOPS
Officials estimate the fire has already cost at least $23.3 million. Authorities have rallied resources from all across the western U.S. to fight the Carlton Complex, with more than 3,100 firefighters and support workers operating out of three camps on opposite sides of the fire. Separate incident command centers work out of the camps in Omak, Winthrop and Chelan. At the end of each shift, yellow school buses carry fire crews back to their camps. Exhausted men and women shoulder their gear and shuffle to their tents, which pack the lawns surrounding each camp. Some will meander over to mess tents for food. Many will collapse in their sleep-
6:30 PM Join us for a spectacular fireworks show after the game.
S A LVA G E
Beneath the skeletal branches of a blackened tree in the riverside town of Pateros, Richard Mathews scratches through the ashes of his home with a borrowed rake. A charred oven unit rests by a toppled water heater. Everything else has burned down flat to the foundation. Mathews, 53, bends and picks out a scrap of debris. He examines it briefly and drops it. “That fire was hot,” he says. “You know it was hot.” Mathews’ home once stood at the center of a family neighborhood in Pateros,
SUNDAY 8/3
SATURDAY 8/2 FIREWORKS NIGHT
ing bags, cherishing a few hours of sleep before the next battle.
3:30 PM BREAST CANCER AWARENESS Pre-Game Pitch for the Cure Walk at 3pm and Pink Jerseys auctioned off during the game. Plus Cloverdale Post-Game Catch on the Field.
sponsored by:
343-OTTO (6886)
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