Hot Time in White Salmon

So I was going to write about how damn hot it is. Like hotter than Texas hot. Without the humidity, of course, so it's tolerable...I was all ready to focus on the thermometer, shown here attached to the underside of the deck railing, and the digital reading showing it was 114 on the deck at 3:53, and how the 'top reading' for the day read 127 (deck heat)...but my story shifted to the draft pile.

We went to town tonight for dinner with Will, who is visiting from California. He took us out to our local brewpub, Everybody's, which is now officially brewing its own beer. Yay. We had chips and salsa. We tried the new beers (my porter was yummy, bordering on stout). Our food had just arrived when we spied smoke out by the back deck.

I went to investigate and was met by a fireman who was shooing everyone from the deck tables. Within minutes, a hose was wetting down the deck and roof of the brewpub and the firemen were ordering us to evacuate in an orderly manner. The waitress tossed us go boxes, we transferred the piping hot food into the cardboard, chugged our beers, and exited in an orderly manner. Oh, and Will took time to pay the bill, what a sweetie. He actually carries cash!

In this picture, the pub is on the left, the gallery is on fire (yellow front) and Artisan's is on the right. Lloyd moved the car, which was directly in front of the pub, we crossed the street and sat on the benches in front of the Postal Annex where we proceeded to dine and watch the trucks arrive. After White Salmon trucks and the Husum truck and the Underwood truck were there, we were told to clear the block because the gas line might blow. No need to tell us twice...we know what happens when fire meets gas. Besides, I was done with my gyro by then. Skamania and Hood River trucks drove up.

We moseyed around to the side street to check out the back side of the fire. It was pretty amazing. Sorry I only had my cell phone camera to work with. The corrugated metal addition was totalled, with fire coming out the holes, water going in from several hoses. Firemen, fully armored with suits, tanks and helmets, had gone in the front door and were spraying from inside. The ladders were spraying on the top.

We stayed around until things were pretty much under control. It was impressive to see the quick response of all the area fire stations. We have lots of volunteer fire departments here in Klickitat County. The firemen (and women) were very professional. Thank goodness, our brewpub was spared, and the wonderful Artisan shop on the other side looked none the worse for wear. But for Blue and Roz, it was not a good night. White Salmon doesn't want to lose ANY of our shops, to the economy or fire or ANYTHING.