Smelly silage fire impacts Hermiston

HERMISTON – A fire is burning in a contained area southeast of Hermiston, and residents are complaining about the smoke and smell the silage fire is producing. One caller reported that Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 informed him that since the fire was contained, it was no longer a concern.

That is not the whole story. UCFD Chief Scott Stanton said his department has been working with and talking to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Umatilla County Smoke Management, and the city of Hermiston as they actively address the issue, which Stanton said is ultimately the property owner’s responsibility. Fire Marshal Scott Goff is taking the lead for the fire district.

Stanton wrote in an email that a news release will be issued by his agency this afternoon (Wednesday). The release was received a few minutes after this story was released and is posted below.

The owner of the property on Oldfield Road just outside city limits is Carter & Wyatt Holdings LLC, according to the Oregon Secretary of State Corporate Division. Carter & Wyatt Holdings has received a fine of almost $30,000 in 2017 from the DEQ for operating without a permit.

News release from UCFD#1:

HERMISTON – Umatilla County Fire District #1 responded to a reported silage pile fire on
the morning of December 8, 2021. On arrival, crews found a large pile of corn silage that
had self heated and began to openly burn. Crews extinguished the open flames and have
responded back additional times for open flame combustion.

This fire is a large smoldering pile of organic material that requires the use of heavy equipment and water
to complete extinguishment. To simply flow water on this type of fire as has been
suggested by some citizens, will do nothing to mitigate the smoke in a timely fashion.
This fire would be comparable to a trashcan fire inside a residence and we show up and
simply flow water on the roof of the structure. It is not going to do anything to
extinguish the fire, the water would simply flow off the roof onto the ground. This is not
a hostile fire at this time.

We are well aware of the impact that the smoke is having on
the community and the land owner is taking all the required actions to complete
extinguishment of this fire. The actions include the use of heavy equipment and water
trucks. The heavy equipment needed is not equipment the Fire District has readily
available nor do we have operators to handle this type of equipment.

These types of fires occur when organic materials begin to break down. During the
ensiling process, heat is released which given the right conditions can lead to smoldering
and open combustion. This pile has all of the components needed for this type of fire;
moist organic material, decomposition, compression and ventilation. Given the high
winds in recent days, this has provided the needed ventilation component to bring this
combustion to the surface of the pile. This fire does not fall under the regulations of the
Fire District open burning ordinance. This is an unintentional fire started from the
natural breakdown of organic material previously mentioned. The fire is currently
contained in an open pit and is not creating a hazard to anything surrounding that area.
Therefore, the incident has been turned back to the property owner to complete the
extinguishment of the fire.
We appreciate the phone calls and our community members bringing this to our
attention. However, this issue is currently beyond any regulatory authority that the Fire
District has for further mitigation. We have been in contact with the City of Hermiston,
Umatilla County Smoke Management and the Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality regarding this incident

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Elkhorn Media Group

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