Yakima-Tieton irrigation canal faces 3-day shut down to repair damage from Retreat Fire

TIETON, Wash. – The Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District is shutting down its irrigation canal for three days to allow crews to repair damage caused by the Retreat Fire.

Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District Manager Travis Okenberry said the decision to shut down the canal temporarily was driven by concerns over potential catastrophic failure due to debris blocking and damaging sections of the canal.

Okenberry said too much debris will cause water levels to rise, the canal to overflow and get down into ground below the base of the canal.

"It can wash out the base and then, you know, we lose the canal," Okenberry said. "It slides off the hillside. We've had that happen in the past."

The Yakima-Tieton Main Canal stretches 12 miles from the Rimrock Retreat area — where the fire started — to the “Y” intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and State Route 410.

After operating for more than a century in a less-than-ideal location, officials said the canal is already at risk of catastrophic wildfire, which is why they’ve been exploring the possibility of replacing or moving it for over a decade.

According to Okenberry, the canal has faced four major incidents in the 115 years since it was built. He said the worst incident was in 1980 when ash from the eruption of Mt. St. Helens caused blockages in the canal.

“The canal backed up, started overtopping and then it washed about a 150-foot section off the side of the cliff and we were down for 19 days," Okenberry said. “Back in 1980, this repair cost $1.5 million; that's equivalent to $5.6 million today."

The canal is challenging to access, with the main entry point being a narrow, three-foot-wide footpath atop a steep hillside. This makes any major repair work difficult, often requiring heavy equipment and aerial support.

To prevent another disaster, the district lowered water levels early on, when the fire was burning closer to U.S. Highway 12. Later, Okenberry said crews discovered a three-foot boulder in a section of canal that would have caused more damage had they not take preventative measures.

"Had we not dropped the water levels down to where we did, we would have certainly had a catastrophic failure of our canal," Okenberry said.

Okenberry said the current plan is to shut down the canal for three days to allow crews to make necessary repairs. The district aims to restore water service before temperatures rise again, critical for the region's agriculture.

The current plan is to shut down the canal for three days to allow crews to make necessary repairs. The district aims to restore water service before temperatures rise again, critical for the region's agriculture.

"This agricultural community needs the water and we have to manage that critical resource; these are tough decisions that we're making," Okenberry said.

Okenberry also stressed the dangers facing the repair crews, with unstable conditions, landslides and falling trees making the area hazardous.

Despite these challenges, district officials are working to restore irrigation services and hope to have the canal operational by Friday morning.

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