Fire destroyed multiple woodpiles and blackened pine trees near a residence on Bicentennial Lane in rural Joseph Friday afternoon, August 3.
A joint effort involving 13 volunteer firefighters from Joseph and Enterprise fire departments plus one from the Oregon Department of Forestry extinguished the flames quickly before they could threaten the nearby house.
Among those on the scene was Joseph Assistant Chief Matt Walker, a Wallowa Lake resident. Firefighters and lake residents Doug Buska and Dirk Wiggins were on standby in case of another incident in the Joseph area.
Assisting was the Wallowa County Sheriff's Office. A Wallowa Memorial Hospital ambulance crew stood by nearby in case of injury.
A trash fire in a burn barrel was blamed for spreading to the woodpiles. ODF had banned debris burning just three days earlier, and the mother of the 14-year-old girl who was burning the trash was cited by ODF.
The property owner didn't have a rural fire protection contract with Joseph, so will be billed for firefighting costs, possibly more than $1,000. A rural contract costs $150 a year.
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