I love Hood River

[PonoBill]

So there's a derailment of two cars carrying oil catching fire two miles to the east of us that has the major highway closed, traffic through downtown is totally snarled, with cars and semis creeping along at well under walking pace.  It's 100 degrees, and they still went ahead with plans to truck snow down from Mount Hood and close a major street, covering the hill with snow to do this.



I love this town. People here have their head screwed on right.

[SUPcheat]

Look like a bunch a goddam yuppie weasels!

[Dusk Patrol]

Look like a bunch a goddam yuppie weasels!

I know you're jus' funnin'... but it is a pretty homogeneous crowd...

[Admin]

So there's a derailment of two cars carrying oil catching fire two miles to the east of us that has the major highway closed

Yup.  Oil car derailment right at the bird refuge ponds in Mosier (environmental groups were quick to react).  8 cars derailed and I believe only 2 burned, but this was a long string of oil cars so it could have been much worse.

[TallDude]

Of course it had to happen right in the middle of a bird refuge. Then you have these pot head twin tippers sliding rails downtown increasing the carbon footprint.  Entropy....

[starman]

It certainly could have been much worse. I can recall the derailment a couple of years back that just about wiped out Lac-Megantic. Carrying oil by rail just feet from the Columbia River was never a good idea.

[Tom]

So there's a derailment of two cars carrying oil catching fire two miles to the east of us that has the major highway closed

Yup.  Oil car derailment right at the bird refuge ponds in Mosier (environmental groups were quick to react).  8 cars derailed and I believe only 2 burned, but this was a long string of oil cars so it could have been much worse.

That picture looks like it happened in my friends back yard

[pdxmike]

Of course it had to happen right in the middle of a bird refuge...

All the stuff in Oregon that makes the national news happens in bird refuges.

[SUPcheat]

They need to identify the parts of Oregon that AREN'T a bird refuge.

[PonoBill]

Well there's that. Pretty sure all the oil running through the gorge is for export. I need to verify that. One of those strange international thingies--Australian oil company producing light crude in South Dakota shipping it to China. Not sure about that, it's one of the kind of things people dream up to make a point. More digging.

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

We have a pipeline going through Westchester county right now. They're using eminent domain to get land, sometimes going through people's backyards. The crazy thing is, all that fuel is for export. Crazy situation.

[PonoBill]

They need to identify the parts of Oregon that AREN'T a bird refuge.

Hell, downtown Portland is a bird refuge. First time I came to Oregon I thougt it was going to be all redneck lumberjacks. Boy, was I wrong.

[headmount]

The main thing is... that in Admin's picture there's no wind!  WTF!

[Tom]

My friend from Moser wrote in her blog about the train derailment . Good story and some great photos. She was involved with emergency preparedness here in San Diego and now works with the 911 system in Hood River

http://dogdiary.org/surfdogdiaries/this-is-not-a-drill-oil-train-derailment/6/2016

[PonoBill]

Undoutedly shot from the porch of his rental house.

It's dead calm in the Hood this weekend--hot as blazes in Portland. Of course when it's like this it's a precursor to getting our ears blown off. When the cold, dense marine layer makes it way in to Portland the pressure differential between PDX and the eastern desert does through the roof, and the Gorge is where it comes into balance. Should be a nutso week.