Pendleton firefighters Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, inspect the burned flour mill in Pendleton to determine a plan of action for demolition.

PENDLETON — The burnt portions of the Pendleton flour mill are set to be demolished, and a team from Northstar Demolition and Remediation Inc. was at the mill Thursday, Oct. 20, assessing the site and planning the demolition.

Matt Chambers, vice president of operations for Northstar Demolition and Remediation Inc. was overseeing the inspection and explained that they’re still in the preparatory phase of the demolition process.

“We’re doing surveys and the engineering,” Chambers said, “The structure is compromised, so determining where the vulnerable points are and how to mitigate hazards associated with it, that’s what we’re in the process of doing right now.”

Chambers, who flew out from Denver to oversee the operations, was on site with a Northstar Demolition and Remediation Inc. team from Portland which will be carrying out the demolition.

“We have heavy involvement from engineering partners looking at structure, looking at the damage and examining old drawings to try and determine what’s the best scenario, how can we approach things, what’s being supported by what, those types of things,” Chambers said. “Anytime you enter a demolition like this it’s different every time, so there’s no set box that you can pull out and say, ‘this is what we’re going to do.’ Right now we’re getting the engineers involved and figuring out what to do.”

The Pendleton Fire Department was also at the mill during the inspection, continuing their work of dousing hotspots throughout the burnt mill as they have since the fire.

“They requested we come down, they’re getting ready, so we’re trying to make sure to keep these hotspots down,” Lieutenant-Paramedic Craig Murstig, of the Pendleton Fire Department explained. “We may have to come back as they start working, for now we’re putting water on it and knocking it down as best we can. The problem is there’s so much rubble material in there, you can’t get to all the fire. You get it doused down, after a few days it dries out and starts smoking again.”

While the demolition is still in its preparatory phase, the whole demolition process could be complete in just a few months, Chambers explained.

“Once we get through the engineering, hopefully we get everything down to a safer elevation within a month.” Chambers said. “Then probably another month and a half to two months to get everything cleaned up, gone, and get the site restored back to something usable.”