‘I saw the fires coming.’ Concrete dam offers desperate refuge from Oregon firestorm

Mike Pomeroy knew it was time to go.

His routine shift operating two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams east of Salem, Oregon, had become precarious with 50 mph winds driving a raging wildfire at him, The Statesman Journal reported.

Pomeroy set the dams to operate automatically and jumped in his car to escape the oncoming Beachie Creek Fire at 5 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, KGW reported.

“I thought I could, you know, just drive through the fire, but really all I did was drive into it,” Pomeroy said, KPTV reported.

“And there was a lot of fire and debris on the road, large boulders, fallen trees, that kind of stuff,” Pomeroy said, according to the station. “I didn’t get very far before it became apparent that there was no way I was going to get through that.”

Fearing his car might become stuck in the debris, trapping him in the wildfire, Pomeroy turned back to the Detroit Dam, one of the dams in his care, KATU reported.

He spent the rest of the day trying to prepare the dam and powerhouse for the blaze, The Statesman Journal reported. At 11:30 p.m., the flames neared the dam.

“I saw the fires coming in the security cameras,” Pomeroy said, KGW reported. “And in my mind it was game time. To be honest, it looked big and scary in the cameras. So I thought the safest place for me would be in the dam itself.”

Pomeroy locked himself inside the 500-foot concrete dam to wait out the oncoming firestorm, The Statesman Journal reported. After the blaze destroyed his outside communications, Pomeroy was cut off from the world.

“There was a big concern of mine, and that was my family,” he said, KATU reported. “I was worried that they didn’t know. I knew that they were very worried about me. I was concerned (about) what they were going through.”

He had brought gas masks, food and water, and made contingency plans in case the dam’s interior filled with choking smoke, KGW reported.

“And you know, I knew full well that sometimes that’s just not enough,” Pomeroy said, according to the station “And that’s just the way it is sometimes in life. But I had to do everything I could to make everything as good as possible.”

In all, Pomeroy worked 30 hours without sleeping to keep the dam operating, KGW reported. A relief crew finally reached him later Wednesday, Sept. 9..

“At the time that the incident happened I was feeling a little unlucky,” Pomeroy said, KPTV reported.

“But you know, when I finally started driving out of the canyons, when they came and got me and I saw the wreckage and debris and the fire damage, I was just shocked,” he said, according to the station. “And you know, my heart really goes out to those families, they’ve lost so much.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers credited Pomeroy with preventing serious damage to the dam and protecting downstream water supplies, The Statesman Journal reported.

The Beachie Creek Fire, one of dozens of wildfires in Oregon, California and Washington, has blackened more than 191,000 acres and is 20% contained as of Sept. 16, the U.S. Forest Service reported.

This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 8:53 AM with the headline "‘I saw the fires coming.’ Concrete dam offers desperate refuge from Oregon firestorm."