Eyewitness Account: Fiver Rivers, Oregon, 2003

Wednesday, April 30, 2003:  A Heli-jet helicopter hired by the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture and the US Forest Service sprayed what they claim was Foray 48B on our valley.  Our east property line was supposed to be the boundary of the spray zone, which extended up our ridge and directly over our spring.  The helicopter began its run with three passes over Five Rivers and along our property line, on our side of the line of balloons we had marked the property line with, going directly behind and over our house and making its turn directly over our spring, which is an open, concrete-lined pool fed by surface springs that flow into it from a wide, steep basin above.  After making the three passes up and back along our east boundary, the helicopter sprayed the valley lengthwise, turning over our property line on each pass and spraying our spring again as well as our orchard, house, barn, pasture, etc., which took about 45 minutes.  We took some pictures when they first started spraying, then stayed in the house until over an hour after they were done; by that point the smell in the house was noxious, and my son had broken out in weeping eczema, which he hadn't had for seven years.  We left just as it started raining, and stayed in town until late afternoon, when we had to come home to feed animals.  We have been drinking and washing with bottled water since then, and showering in town.

For more information on the Five Rivers spraying, see the Five Rivers, Oregon Gypsy Moth Web Site.

The picture (one of many) is of the helicopter above our house after spraying our spring. Picture taken by Nikko Merrell.