Mosier Voices

Last week, in collaboration with Friends of the Columbia Gorge, I helped photograph and profile a few of the people most directly affected by the Union Pacific oil train derailment on June 3rd, including a volunteer firefighter who was one of the first responders on-scene, and his 8-year old son who was evacuated from the Mosier Community School (less than a ¼ mile from the site of the derailment).

The idea was to move beyond sensational headlines and imagery of exploding railcars and gather first-hand accounts of how the train derailment affected residents of this tiny community (population 430) to humanize the issue.  We asked each person how they experienced the events of June 3rd, how their feelings about oil-by-rail have changed since the derailment, what their hopes are for Mosier moving forward, and what message they would like to send to leaders and elected officials to ensure their safety and influence regulatory policy.