Thank goodness for the mill

Posted by on Nov 15, 2011 | Comments Off

Thank goodness for the former Boise Cascade sawmill here in Yakima.

Since the mill closed several years ago it has caught on fire several times, each time providing at least one nice image.

The latest:

Hot spots remaining from a Nov. 13, 2011 fire are being doused Nov. 14, 2011 at the Yakima Resources mill site in Yakima, Wash. The fire, which are still being doused Monday afternoon, Nov. 14. Spontaneous combustion in a bark pile at the former sawmill caused the fire which burned about 60 acres. (GORDON KING/Yakma Herald-Republic)

I really like this photo – it’s a “two-fer.” Lots of graphic appeal while also telling the story.

After the mill closed, logs remained on the site. The first time it caught fire it looked like this:

East Valley firefighters spray water on areas next to the log deck fire Sept. 26, 2009 at Yakima Resources in Yakima, Washington. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

It was a spectacular Saturday afternoon fire that luckily burned only the logs at the mill. Firefighters contained the blaze, keeping it from spreading to an adjacent motel and apartment buildings.

The mill caught fire a second time about 7 a.m. on a weekday morning.This time it was one of the buildings that caught fire.

Yakima Fire Department firefighters battle a blaze which destroyed a large building July 21, 2010 at the former Boise Cascade mill complex. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

Another view of the same fire:

Yakima Fire Department firefighters battle a blaze which destroyed a large building July 21, 2010 at the former Boise Cascade lumber mill site. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)

Again, firefighters did a good job keeping the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.

Luckily for photographers, all of these fires occurred on the outer edges of the property giving us a relatively good shot at making photos of the fire. It’s a large site and should a fire occur in the center of the property good photography would be more problematic because we’re not able to go onto the property (since it’s private we would need permission from the property owner. Getting that permission, especially in a timely fashion to cover a fire is unlikely).

The first two images were shot from an adjacent interstate highway. The last two were shot from an alleyway adjacent to the mill.

Shooting from the interstate introduces another problem. First is the traffic whizzing past at 60+ mph. Second is the Washington State Patrol and other law enforcement. They frown upon pedestrians along the freeway so when shooting the mill site from the freeway I’ve always tried to work as quickly as possible to avoid any conversations with law enforcement.

–Gordon King