Grasshopper Fire Raises Emergency Communication Concerns at Government Camp CPO Meeting
By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times
As the Grasshopper Fire kept portions of the Mount Hood corridor under a Level 1 evacuation notice, residents gathered Aug. 8 for a Government Camp Community Planning Organization meeting to hear how officials were preparing if conditions worsened.
The discussion soon raised another question: How would residents receive an evacuation warning if the power went out and cell service failed?
Captain Pierce said the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office makes the final decision on evacuation levels, relying heavily on fire officials for information about fire behavior and weather.
At the time of the meeting, Pierce said containment lines were holding along the southern side of the fire, but the western edge remained a concern.
“I don’t feel comfortable at this point just saying we have nothing to worry about ’cause we are kind of close,” Pierce said. “We’re close on this western edge.”
Pierce said Level 1 means residents should be aware and ready, and officials did not want to remove the warning only to reinstate it if conditions changed.
“I am going to make sure that we’re really comfortable, that we’re not in danger over here before we remove that Level 1,” he said.
If conditions worsened, Pierce said evacuation plans were already in place. At Level 2, preplanned evacuation routes could be posted based on which roads were safe. At Level 3, deputies would go door to door.
Daniel Nibouar, director of Clackamas County Disaster Management, urged residents to register for Clackamas Public Alerts.
For Government Camp resident Jeanne Lamp, the discussion brought back memories of the 2020 wildfires, when a power outage took down generators serving both cell towers.
“We had no cell signal for almost two days,” Lamp said. “So we drove down to the fire station and told them that we have no communications up here so that somebody would have to come up and let us know.”
Nibouar acknowledged the vulnerability.
“We don’t have a solution, right?” he said. “I don’t have the best solution.”
He pointed to the Hoodland Emergency Communication Network, a group of volunteers who communicate using General Mobile Radio Service, or GMRS, radios. Some members are also licensed amateur radio operators.
Terry Niedermeyer, a Hoodland Fire District board member and Government Camp representative, said the Highway 26 Wildfire Corridor Partnership had been working on the problem.
The partnership submitted a legislative concept through the Special Districts Association of Oregon, or SDAO, calling for at least 72 hours of on-site backup power at cell sites in areas designated as high wildfire hazard, with similar requirements for wireline, cable and voice-over-internet services.
“You’ve gotta get both wireless and wireline in that legislation,” Niedermeyer said.
Niedermeyer said he had also contacted state legislative offices about possible sponsorship and next steps.
Hoodland Fire District is also moving ahead with construction of its new main fire station on property donated by Clackamas County. Niedermeyer said most site work, underground utilities and much of the foundation were complete by the meeting. The U.S. Forest Service is contributing about $5.6 million toward the project, and the district is targeting July 7, 2027, for move-in.
The Grasshopper Fire was also having a visible effect on Government Camp.
Jeff Kohnstamm of Timberline said smoke and uncertainty had been difficult for employees, visitors, and businesses.
“It’s a Saturday in August,” Kohnstamm said. “The Brewpub was probably our busiest day of the year last year, and it’s a ghost town down there. So it’s tough on business.”