
Fire Near Bonneville Dam, Cut-Capacity Nuclear Plant Stretch BPA
Listen
Several uncontrolled wildfires in the Columbia River Gorge burning near Bonneville Dam are challenging the Bonneville Power Administration.
BPA said all of its municipal customers are OK so far. But the Eagle Creek fire has forced officials to shut off power on a section of lines that run from Cascade Locks, Oregon, to Hood River for firefighter safety.

Heavy smoke from the Eagle Creek fire hangs over the Bonneville Dam powerhouse. Mission essential personnel remained at the dam to maintain safe operations and monitor the critical infrastructure. U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District spokeswoman Michelle Helms said Bonneville Dam is providing normal power to the grid so far. She said staffing at the project has been cut down to just the essential people and senior level staff.
There are also teams of people roving around the entire project property checking for spot fires and monitoring the situation. The dam has turned on all the sprinklers on its grounds to aid in suppressing any embers.

The Eagle Creek fire is burning 10,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge near Cascade Locks, Oregon. INCIWEB
The Army Corps has closed its two visitor centers at Bonneville and BPA is also watching fires on the Washington side of the river very closely.
Upriver outside of Richland, the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant—also a key power producer for BPA—is still lagging at at 65 percent strength. The plant has been offline for 13 days this summer, while workers repaired a faulty valve and filtered iron out of the plant’s cooling water.
Energy Northwest spokesman Mike Paoli said the nuclear plant should be back at full operations by the end of the week.
9(MDEwMDE0NjgyMDEzNDY0NDY5NTBmNTc1Yg004))
Related Stories:

Rethinking levees to reduce flood risk
Washington Rep. Steve Tharinger of the 24th district became intimately acquainted with levee setbacks when he discovered the levee protecting his house on the lower Dungeness River was not only not protecting his house, but harming the ecosystem too.
“I sold my house and the five acres in a barn we had, so that we’d have more room to move that levee back and give the river more room,” Tharinger said. Continue Reading Rethinking levees to reduce flood risk

Federal officials want your thoughts on grizzly reintroduction plans
Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Listen (Runtime 0:57) Read Federal officials are considering several possibilities to bring grizzly bears to Washington’s North Cascades.… Continue Reading Federal officials want your thoughts on grizzly reintroduction plans

‘It happened exactly the way we all had feared’: Idaho women sue state for failure to protect patients with pregnancies that threatened life and health
An Idaho woman worried a year ago what might happen to her family if she needed an abortion after the state’s ban took effect. That fear came true. Now, the Caldwell woman is suing. Continue Reading ‘It happened exactly the way we all had feared’: Idaho women sue state for failure to protect patients with pregnancies that threatened life and health