1871-1900 Yaquina Head Lighthouse Letter books

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Pages That Mention Celilo

Coast Guard District narrative histories 1945

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actuality except for the initial voyage of such a vessel to The Dalles, Oregon, in 1939 to prove the channel was large enough for traffic of this type. A conference with marine interests was held in 1943 and a program for proposed aids between Vancouver, Washington and Bonneville was drawn up. The necessity for additional aids was intensified by the continual requests from government agencies to increase the total tonnage on the Columbia River because, due to the manpower shortage, inexperienced men were operating vessels over these treacherous waters and also because almost all railroad tank cars had been taken out of the area due to the war emergency. This placed an exceedingly large burden on the water carriers to transport the required petroleum products for the Army and Navy Air Forces on the Columbia River. The area was marked, at that time, by 6 ranges, 26 lights and 2 beacons.

The new program presented to Headquarters in 1945 requested that 51 structures be electrified and that duplex lanterns be replaced by single General Railway signal, Type "SA" lanterns in order to simplify and standardize equipment. This proposed project was approved by Headquarters and work began instantly. The contour of the shore in this area, near Multnomah Falls, created precipitous cliffs rising almost from the water's edge which prevented the use of the customary range, and, consequently, it was proposed to install experimental channel limiting group lights which had been temporarily established at Arlington beyond The Dalles, Oregon. (See Arlington Channel Limiting Group Lights under "Experimental Range Markings".) Headquarters disapproved the use of the new ranges and as a result, the area was left inadequately marked as the conventional two board ranges could not be established on the sheer banks. (A great number of the rear lights of conventional ranges installed above Celilo were fixed instead of flashing. When the lights were first installed, both front and rear lights were flashing. As this section of the river was very dangerous due to the rocks and whirlpools and side currents, the operators of the boats had very little time for observation of ranges which were astern when going up the rapids as the current and the whirlpools were continually changing the boat's course. If the light was at an eclipsed state when the operator looked back at the range, he was unable to determine whether or not he was on the course as very little time could be spent looking for the range.)

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Last edit about 7 years ago by Wjhoward
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(picture)

THE PICTURE SHOWS AN INLAND NAVIGATION CO. BARGE ST(R)ANDED IN THE CELILO RAPIDS, GIVES AN IDEA OF THE DIFFICULT CHANNELS, THE SWIFT AND SHALLOW WATER, AND THE GENERAL TERRAIN WITH WHICH NAVIGATORS IN THIS VICINITY MUST COPY. THE BARGE HAD BROKEN LOOSE FROM ITS MOORINGS AND DRIFTED TO THIS PRECARIOUS POSITION. IT WAS FLOATED BY THE RELEASE OF A HEAD OF WATER FROM COULEE DAM WHICH TOOK 2 TO 3 DAYS TO REACH THE AREA. RESCUE WAS CONDUCTED BY CABLES BETWEEN MEN ON THE BARGE AND THE SHORE AS POWER BOATS WERE NOT ABLE TO ENTER THE RIVER AT THIS POINT. THE NAVIGATION CO. REALIZED CONSIDERABLE LOSS IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE ALTHOUGH INSTANCES OF THIS TYPE ARE NOT UNCOMMON IN RIVER TRAFFIC. THIS BARGE IS TYPICAL OF THOSE FOUND IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER AREA.

EXPERIMENTAL BUOYS

The area between Bonneville, Oregon, and The Dalles, Oregon, consisted of two deep water pools which were formed by the construction of the Bonneville Dam and was well lighted with numerous river bank lights. a meeting with vessel operators a few months before the war resulted in the unanimous approval of the lights as they were at that time. Requests were constantly made for installation of buoys but none were developed which could ride the swift current during freshets. Oil drum buoys were set out in the vicinity of Celilo and, at the conclusion of the war, were still the most effective buoy markings. The buoys had been painted white, with red or black band markings as the navigators had found it difficult to pick out the solid red or black buoys at night. The mariners urged the development of a surface riding buoy equipped with reflectors as reflectors could not be installed on the oil drums. The dependency of tugboat operators on these markings was evidenced in the fact that if the tender assigned to that area was unable to replace an

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Last edit about 7 years ago by Wjhoward
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Tests of the channel limiting group equipment were observed by the District Engineering and Marine Inspection Officers and it was their recommendation that it was worthwhile to establish and to put into use such an experimental range on the Columbia River. This was done at Arlington, Oregon, with Headquarters' approval, in the Spring of 1945. An investigation of the success of this type of range indicated that the majority of the operators preferred the old type regular center line lighted range of two boards. This preference, in the opinion of the District Coast Guard Office, was made primarily because of the lack of understanding and the use of the limiting channel range and, consequently, detailed printed instructions were issued to all operators in the Celilo-Pasco District where the Arlington range was located. As a result, more favorable comments were received in regard to the use of the limiting channel lights, but, notwithstanding, Headquarters would not authorize their establishment on other ranges where the two-board range was impracticable because of the terrain. This policy, which Headquarters adopted, left areas in the Columbia River unsafe for navigation as the lights and markings which could be established there provided only inadequate coverage.

INCREASE OF AIDS AND CHANNEL IMPROVEMENTS

Recommendations for the increase of aids to insure safety of mariners in the Upper Columbia were presented to the District Coast Guard Officer and Headquarters by the Board of Survey. Headquarters felt that complete justification for the project as a whole, as being vital to the war effort, had not been furnished, and requested that a complete list of all shipping interests concerned, the extent of their operations, and a list of all government agencies involved there in the war interest, be furnished. Letters from navigation companies indicating the large burdens placed on water carriers to transport the required petroleum products to Army and Navy installations on the Columbia were forwarded to Headquarters together with freight tonnages and traffic statistics. The proposed improvements were then approved and an appropriation of $50,000 was granted. (June, 1940). Additional appropriations were granted later.

The Snake River, which enters the Columbia just south of Pasco, Washington, was not navigable except during high water from the middle of March to the middle of July. At the time of the survey, the U. S. Army Engineers were contemplating the improvement of the Snake River by providing a

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