Firefighters faced bees, wasps, poison oak on Tunnel 5 Fire

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Fire isn’t the only hazard firefighters have faced while battling the Tunnel 5 Fire burning in the Underwood area Skamania County.

Tunnel 5 Fire Public Information Officer Eric Hendrickson told KOIN 6 News that bees, wasps and poison oak have also been prevalent in the steep, wild terrain of the Columbia River Gorge.

“Firefighters have been dealing with some difficulties in addition to fighting the fire,” Hendrickson said.

Officials in charge of assessing and reducing the risks associated with the Tunnel 5 Fire previously delivered supplies to protect firefighters from the bees, wasps and poison oak as they work to gain control of the still-active wildfire.

“To address the bee and wasp problem, firefighters have been provided with wasp spray and traps,” Hendrickson said. “On the poison oak front, we did have difficulty obtaining Tecnu [poison oak treatment scrub] early in the incident, but thankfully, we were able to secure an adequate supply to provide our personnel.” 

Laundry services and dish soap were also provided at the fire’s base camp, which has allowed firefighters to better wash their potentially contaminated clothing and skin.

“We have placed Dawn dish soap in the shower units and have asked our firefighters to use this to remove the oils from the skin and reduce any poison oak infections,” Hendrickson said. “And finally, our medical unit staff has been supplied and prepared to treat any infections that do occur.”

Two injuries or illnesses have been reported by firefighters fighting the Tunnel 5 Fire since it started on July 2. However, the details of these injuries are unable to be released due to patient privacy and HIPAA laws.

As of July 10, the Tunnel 5 Fire has burned 529 acres and is 80% contained. Firefighters managing the fire stated in a final update that many of the crews working the fire were demobilized on Monday in response to the high level of containment.

“Remaining fire crews and equipment will be utilized to patrol the fire area for the next several days as warmer temperatures and higher wind speeds return to the area throughout next week and pockets of interior fuels continue to consume,” the update states. “Smoke from this interior burning will be visible for some time to come.”