City, County and outside help pull together to manage fire

DAYTON-The City Council met June 9, a day after the Eagles Club was on fire acknowledging the collaboration of city, county and outside departments. Mayor Zac Weatherford allowed those who put in long hours dealing with the emergency to go first and leave the meeting to get some rest.

Ashley Strickland of Columbia County Emergency Management updated on the most current expectation at that time that Main Street would be open for All Wheels Weekend this weekend. "Hopefully by All Wheels Weekend we can get it down where it'll just be closed between First and Second, the one lane of traffic up in front of the Eagles."

Since that time the second story front wall of the Eagles has been taken down due to concerns it could fall down since it lost its structural support–mainly the roof in the fire. Main Street is currently fully open though the side walk in front of The Eagles and adjacent buildings is closed.

Strickland later went on to say, how appreciative of the work City's Public Works put in the day before. "The Chief requested that the road be shut down," Strickland said, "The road was shut down in eight minutes. The traffic was controlled and the people were pushed back. It was all taken care of which made everything run smooth, there is very little damage to the surrounding businesses and nobody got seriously hurt."

He also said there will be an 'after action' done at some point because there are always things to improve upon. "I've got a list of things I'm working on," said Strickland. "I'm sure there's a list of things you're working on. I look forward to that to make things go even more smoother next time."

The Mayor also stated his approval of the work done by the Public Works, Management, Fire District No. 3, help from Walla Walla and Columbia County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Joe Helm observed everyone worked quickly and effectively during the fire which minimized the chaos that sometimes accompany an emergency, like traffic control and responding to other calls. "I just want to put a shout out for the fire department, for Ashley, for Public Works," said Helm. "Everybody seemed to come together and do their best under the circumstances."

Public Works Director Jim Costello acknowledged those who dropped everything they were doing to respond to the fire; Don Moton, Ed Strickland, Isaiah Lambert, Rob John, Dave Sweetwood and Alan Walker. He also recognized those in his staff who worked in cleaning up and making ready the cemetery for Memorial Weekend.

The Mayor added, "I went up to the cemetery on Memorial Day Weekend and it looked fantastic."