Elected through Terror

Untitled Part 40

In the summer of 1985 we had a fire that threatened the community of Antelope.

I have heard, numerous times, that a crisis can bring people who normally are at odds with each other together to fight the threat. That may be true in some instances; it was not true in this community.

While the city lies between a number of hills it also has several wheat ranches adjoining the city limits.

It is not unusual to have fires in those wheat fields and they move fast, just like a prairie fire. You have to get out in front of it before the winds sweep it too far out of control.

A friend of mine, an Oregon State University Extension agent, was in the area at the time, so he quickly drove over to see if he could help. This story came from him:

This fire was coming from the north. The locals started making a fire break just outside the city; since they didn't have construction equipment at the scene to do that they had to uses shovels. To do that you have to use a shovel like you were loading a furnace with coal – scoop the dirt and throw it.

The Rajneesh, however, had no idea how to combat a fire. What few were on the fire line were separated from the other citizens. Instead of scooping and throwing they were trying to dig into the dirt, lift it and throw it. The agent showed them how to properly dig the line.

The Rajneesh were in control of the city, so they had access to the one and only decade's old fire truck. One of them ran to the fire house and got the truck.

They drove the truck to a water pipe, used as a fire hydrant, relatively close to the fire. So close that they stopped the truck over a burning bush. It would have been destroyed if the agent hadn't moved it.

The fire truck and personnel were not very effective.

Eventually heavy equipment arrived and they produced a good fire break; the fire burned itself out right at the edge of the playground for the school house.

Lots of complaints from the locals about how the Rajneesh reacted to the fire, the most vehement complaint was about how the Rajneesh (who are vegetarians and, ironically in the light of the criminal charges, are not to kill anything) were trying to shoo away or gather up the grasshoppers rather than getting down to business.

There was no partnership created during or after the fire, the locals didn't trust the Rajneesh and the Rajneesh continued their aggressive techniques to harass them trying to get them to move.