Hells Canyon Road remains closed after contractor killed in rock slide

Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald, Ore.
·3 min read

Dec. 12—The road between Oxbow and Hells Canyon Dam remained closed on Monday, Dec. 12 after a contractor working for Idaho Power Company was killed in a rock slide on Saturday morning

Stacey Keen, 39, of Tillamook, was part of a crew working to stabilize a rock cliff on the east side of the road, which is on the Idaho side of the canyon.

Keen was in a bucket suspended by a piece of machinery when he was struck by multiple rocks, according to a press release from the Adams County, Idaho, Sheriff's Office. The accident was reported around 8:15 a.m. PST.

There were no other injuries, according to an email from Maria Willacy, a corporate communications specialist for Idaho Power.

"We want to express our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the person who was lost and to all who have been affected by this incident," said Bryan Brandel, safety director for Idaho Power, which owns and operates Hells Canyon Dam and maintains the paved road that leads to it. "We care deeply about the safety of all our contractors and employees. We are still working closely with the teams involved and local authorities to understand the facts of the situation."

After the slide, deputies from Adams County and from Baker County used boats to move stranded workers away from the slide. Geologists from Idaho Power and OSHA assessed the scene, and once they determined the area was stable, deputies brought in heavy equipment to remove the boom and bucket and recover Keen's body.

Steelhead angler recounts experience

Bryan Karolski of Baker City was in Hells Canyon to fish for steelhead below Hells Canyon Dam on Saturday morning.

Karolski said he drove through the work zone, on the way to the dam, just before dawn.

"It was raining really hard," he said. "Really, really bad conditions."

Karolski, who said he has worked in construction and regularly hiked in Hells Canyon for more than 20 years and seen slides during rainy weather, said he thought at the time that the situation seemed dangerous, and that he hoped there wouldn't be an accident.

Karolski said he and his cousins had been fishing for about two hours, on the Idaho side of the river, when a police vehicle showed up on the Oregon side. An officer with a loudspeaker announced that there had been a slide and that everyone needed to evacuate.

Karolski said he talked with Warren Thompson, a deputy with the Baker County Sheriff's Office whom he knows well.

Karolski said Thompson told him that one worker had been killed and four others injured, and that rocks were still falling in the area.

"He was really concerned about making sure everyone in the area was safe," Karolski said of Thompson. "Baker County did a great job in my opinion."

Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash said Thompson was on duty in the area throughout Saturday to assist Adams County, which was the primary agency handling the accident.