The Fire That Almost Stopped the Canal: $40,000 Loss at Big Eddy
A mysterious blaze destroys the machine and steam plants of the Washington Canal project, yet work on the massive irrigation artery continues without pause.
The story, cleaned up
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CEEILO PLANT IS DESTROYED Machine Shop, Steam Plant Burn Down in Fire; Work on Project Will Not Stop
It is estimated that more than $40,000 damage was done by fire late Friday afternoon at The Dalles-Celilo canal plant at Big Eddy. The machine shop, 150x50 feet, and the steam plant and electric plant, which furnished power at the camp, were destroyed. A locomotive which was in the building for repairs, was practically the only thing saved.
The fire started in the roof while no one was in the building and spread rapidly. Realizing that the building was doomed the government’s employees on the job turned their efforts to saving the rock crusher nearby, which was in danger.
Work on the canal will not be hampered to any appreciable extent because all of the equipment is in good repair.
In 1914, Kennewick residents watched anxiously as a massive federal infrastructure project just downriver faced a catastrophic setback. The destruction of the Ceeilo plant threatened the water supply that would eventually make Central Washington’s agriculture possible; today, we still rely on those same canals and dams for our regional economy and survival in the arid climate.
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