Historic smokestack comes tumbling down

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Story Published: Feb 11, 2007 at 7:51 PM PDT

By Andy Peterson

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When developer Robin Stevenot bought the old Coos Head Pulp Mill property, she discovered that, for insurance reasons, she couldn't keep the old smokestack standing.

So on Sunday, this piece of Coos County history came crashing down.

A large crowd gathered in Coos Bay's Barview district Sunday morning to watch the demolition take place.

The smokestack, towering 550 feet above the waterfront, was built in the 1800's as part of the pulp mill along Cape Arago Highway.

Oregon Army National Guard soldiers set charges to drop the tower as part of a training mission.

"Yeah, we've done this a lot; not so many smokestacks, but a lot of bridges and other things," explains Oregon Army National Guard Lt. Spencer Cookson. "People want something demolished and the safest way to take it down is with explosives, and we're trained. So we get called up sometimes, and really enjoy doing it."

After standing for more than a century, the tower came down in just a few seconds.. to the delight of onlookers. Officials say the demolition went just as planned.

"It blew inward," explains Clif Green of the Charleston Fire Department, "and if you noticed there was a puff of smoke out of the top of the stack and that's probably where most of the concussion went, was straight up in the air. And then it just came down very gracefully."

Once the cleanup is complete, the area is set for a major development project -- one that will bring a marina large enough for 99 boats, a handful of commercial properties, and 168 single family residences to that piece of land. They'll also be restoring the old dock that extends out into the waters of Coos Bay.

The Coos Head Pulp Mill property has been dormant since the mill closed in 1970.

(KCBY reporter Azenith Smith contributed to this report.)

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