Metal hazard removed from Clackamas River (Clackamas County Sheriff's Office)

To read the full press release accompanying this video, visit http://tinyurl.com/2dbunte

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol is pleased to announce that a deteriorating piece of machinery that found its way into the Clackamas River was safely removed from the waterway on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010.

This large and extremely heavy piece of abandoned machinery had, over a long period of time, worked its way into a river channel an estimated one-half mile east of Barton Park in the Clackamas River.

Earlier this summer, at least two persons were injured while navigating this portion of the river.

Discovering this hazard, Sheriff's Office Marine personnel posted warning signs and alerted the community to the existing treacherous water hazard. Marine Deputies were also tasked with finding a reasonable method to remove this hazardous obstacle from the river.

Thanks to swift intervention provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon State Marine Board, a prompt solution to the problem was found. These two organizations helped supervise the expedient removal of this river hazard.

Bill Erickson Construction was hired for the labor-intensive effort -- which involved removing this 20-foot-long heavy iron pump frame from the river channel.

Most significant was the generous funding of $4,200, provided by the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation -- which paid for the total removal of the river hazard.

Clackamas County Fire District #1 also participated on Thursday, Aug. 12 -- directing river traffic around the site early this morning while Erickson Construction wrestled with the removal of the metal monster from the river. From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Erickson Construction made this ominous task look easy as they pulled the item from the river using heavy machinery and cables. No injuries were reported.

This piece of machinery is now destined to be cut into pieces and hauled from the site for recycling.

The Sheriff's Office thanks all those responsible for helping with this large-scale operation.

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