Blake Thompson during removal of hazard trees in 2019 along US-12.

Orofino says goodbye to longtime foreman Blake Thompson

Orofino Maintenance Foreman Blake Thompson is retiring on June 25, after nearly 38 years on the job.

His decades of service began at the Lucile shed, just a few minutes away from his hometown of Grangeville. Eventually, he transitioned to the Lewiston office to serve as an assistant to the operations engineer, but during the statewide flooding in 1996-97 that washed away bridges on US-12 and US-95, he “volunteered” to go help the Orofino crew.

“And as far as Blake knows, he’s still volunteering up there,” District Engineer Doral Hoff joked. “He’ll do anything you ask.”

During his tenure, Thompson has dealt with the extreme mudslides and fires that are routine to North-central Idaho.

A hotshot crew from Florida came to his section in 2003 to assist with “the milepost 59 fire” with Thompson loaning equipment, shuttling crews and removing rockfall. The fire eventually burned over 8,000 acres in late summer and had US-12 closed for two weeks.

Thompson’s the one who convinced them it was safe to open the road, as being from Florida the crew was not accustomed to steep country of the Clearwater drainage and was concerned about the volume of rocks rolling to the highway.  

His skills with the grader and trackhoe are well-known in the district and put to use regularly to help the crew.
 
Despite living in one of the most happy-go-lucky parts of the state, he also got a taste of controversy around 2010. Megaloads delivering refinery equipment to the Alberta tar sands applied for permits for US-12, one of the few routes capable of passing loads that measured 30 feet high by 30 feet wide, almost 400 feet long and ranged from 250,000 to 1 million pounds in weight.

As the foreman since 1993, Thompson identified the safest spots to allow traffic to pass as it would take days for one load to make it up the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway.

This permit application came in the middle of winter, keeping Thompson’s crew busy tending the highway to keep the load from getting compromised in slick conditions. Thompson himself drove a few miles ahead of the load to ensure the highway was open, crawling along US-12 at 12 mph for five nights just to get it to the Montana border.

He has always specialized in hazard tree removal, thanks to his background as a sawyer.

“I once saw him take care of a massive tree that fell during a mudslide and was only held back by a rock,” Engineering Manager Bob Schumacher said. “He had to put on a harness and tie himself to a tree further up the slope, and when he cut it, it rolled hundreds of feet down the slope onto the closed highway without any harm to the public.”

Thompson doesn’t just stand out for his years of service, but also for his beard, purported to be the longest in the state.

“I’m jealous of his beard,” said Ty Winther, another foreman and contestant in the unofficial ITD competition for longest beard.

He’s also the only foreman in the state who enters in the weather update for his road section via the 511 app, something Chris Loffer with State Communications says is a big help.

The annual equipment roadeo is traditionally held at Dworshak Dam, with Thompson serving as the lead coordinator. He’s been known to serve up 40 pounds of homemade potato salad and man the grill at these employee events.

Once he leaves, Orofino drivers can still expect to see him—commuting on his bicycle, as he has done nearly every day for work. 

“A person does not work for with another as long as Blake and I have been acquainted without gaining a true appreciation for what the other does,” Hoff said. “I have genuine respect for what he has done for the district and want to thank him for a job well done.”

Published 06-12-20