A sign displaying “Investigate Fully” stands Nov. 29, 2023, on the remains of the pickup belonging to a member of Oregon Rural Action burned two days earlier.

BOARDMAN — After a staff member’s pickup was found in flames Nov. 27 members and supporters of Oregon Rural Action gathered at the site of the wreckage for a candlelight anti-violence vigil on the side of the road.

Oregon Rural Action, a La Grande-based nonprofit organization focused on promoting clean water, air and land, has a campaign in Boardman that’s gained recent political traction after the community has dealt with high concentrations of nitrates in its well water for decades.

Nitrates often get into water from animal manure, human sewage and commercial fertilizers. Oregon Health Authority is offering eligible residents in the area free or subsidized well testing and treatment, and, if needed, water bottles.

The candlelight vigil was Nov. 29, on the corner of Mountain View Drive and Pioneer Lane in Boardman. No people were harmed in the fire, but ORA representatives believe it was an act of violence.

In a Facebook post announcing the event, ORA said, “We will not stand for violence. We need a safe community and safe drinking water!”

Under investigation

According to Kristin Ostrom, ORA executive director, not only is the situation suspicious — that the pickup had been sitting for hours before catching fire, which is unlikely to happen spontaneously — but the timing of the fire is suspicious, too.

It took place the same day that members of the BIPOC Caucus within the Oregon House of Representatives toured Boardman to learn more about the ongoing water pollution issues. However, during the tour, there were no signs of protests or unrest.

In a Morrow County Sheriff’s Office incident report provided by Ostrom, the initial fire respondents on the scene thought it might have been arson. Since that initial, unofficial assessment, the Boardman fire department has closed their case.

There still is concern from officials the fire could have been intentional, but it also could be an accident. Morrow County sheriff’s deputy Andrew Martin said there is not enough evidence to definitively support either conclusion. The pickup itself can offer no forensic evidence, he added.

Martin said he is following a few leads and the case is classified as a suspicious fire investigation, but he would not offer more information.

The person whose 2011 Dodge pickup is now destroyed, Rafael Romero, is a community organizer for ORA. His vehicle had been sitting outside the house of his colleague, Ana Maria Rodriguez, for hours before the fire while he was gone. The pickup had Oregon Health Authority public health well testing magnetic signs on its doors.

“I don’t know how it happened,” Romero said after the vigil. “I don’t have evidence if it was on purpose.”

But when he arrived at the scene, there were unburned informational materials in the street that had been in his vehicle when he left, he said.

“How do you think that got to the middle of the road without the papers burning?” he asked.

Still, if the burning of his pickup is a message against Oregon Rural Action’s work, Romero is not deterred. “I’m not going to give in. I’m not going to back down,” he said. “I’m not going to leave my community alone. I will continue demanding rights, demanding my community to raise its voice for resources for well-being for a better quality of life.”

Coming together

Around 35 people attended the vigil, including ORA leaders, with many people holding signs protesting violence and promoting safe, clean drinking water.

The event began with an explanation of the course of events as experienced by ORA staff. Then, the leaders opened it up for community members to speak.

Paulo Lopez Jr., 13, recited “Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle” by activist Cesar Chavez.

His father, Paulo Lopez Sr., said, “It’s been 30 years in the dark. Thirty years now we are gaining territory. We are winning in this battle. And until the end we have to stay united to win what we want: clean water, safety for everyone.”

Gloria Munoz, 19, said she has been in Boardman for about one month, and didn’t know about the water problems until Nov. 27. Then, she said, this happens. “It’s not that (much of) a surprise for me because I have seen problems with water in Mexico,” Munoz said. “I know the stuff that happens.”

In addition to community members, representatives from Oregon Food Bank, a partner of ORA, and Jim Doherty, former Morrow County commissioner and state Senate candidate, spoke to the crowd.

“We’ve got bilingual folks here and yet we are one community,” Doherty said during the vigil. “We are a water community and we’re looking out for everybody.”

Before the event began, Doherty said acts of violence are not OK and emphasized that by being in attendance, he was just trying to help take care of his community, though he is not part of Oregon Rural Action. “I would never quit and I would never quit on you,” he said to the crowd later on. “It’s way too important.”

Ostrom said the vigil was important for people to see “what someone did.”

She said although there is not an official stance on what caused the fire, she is concerned about the circumstances and timing. But the vigil offered an opportunity to connect and reaffirm the ORA community’s stance against violence and for clean water.

“The candlelight gathers us together as one community, even in the face of this tragedy,” Ostrom said, “to continue to have hope to keep moving forward.”