Keller, Washington

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Keller, Washington
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Keller
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Keller
Coordinates: 48°04′44″N118°41′06″W / 48.07889°N 118.68500°W / 48.07889; -118.68500
Country United States
State Washington
County Ferry
Area
  Total9.5 sq mi (24.6 km2)
  Land9.5 sq mi (24.6 km2)
  Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
1,499 ft (457 m)
Population
 (2010)
  Total234
  Density25/sq mi (9.5/km2)
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
99140
Area code 509
GNIS feature ID1518417 [1]
FIPS code 53-34960

Keller is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Ferry County in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 234. [2]

Contents

History

The town is located in the valley of the Sanpoil River, and was founded in 1898 [3] by Baby Ray Peone, a local fisherman. The town was located in the area known as "God's Country" (or "Old Keller" to the locals). At its height the town had an estimated population of 3,500 and even featured a minor league baseball team and red light district. The town was moved several times beginning in 1940 due to backwatering from the Grand Coulee Dam which flooded its previous locations, [3] and is now located 18 miles (29 km) north of the Columbia River. The series of moves seriously reduced its population over time.

The town is encompassed by the Colville Indian Reservation, which has an estimated population of roughly 1,200 people mostly of Native American descent and primarily members of the Sanpoil tribe, one of the Twelve Tribes that make up the Colville Confederated Tribes and one of the few Indian Nations that was never relocated by order of the U.S. government.

2024 Swawilla Fire

Dry lightning on July 17, 2024, ignited a wildfire in the Swawilla Canyon area southwest of Keller. Initial efforts to contain the Swawilla Fire were not effective and by July 20, WSDOT, operator of the Keller Ferry, made the decision to keep the ferry route closed after completion of scheduled maintenance that started July 16. The area surrounding the ferry's northern landing was by that point subject to a level 3 "go now" evacuation order by the fire command. [4] By the evening of July 23, both fire progression and changes in weather prompted the fire command to issue a level 2 "get ready" notice for the area northeast of fire lines along highway 21 and including Keller. [5] On the evening of July 24 a level 3 notice was issued for the greater Keller area as the winds shifted westerly and pushed flames northeasterly. The fire command stated it was very likely that the fire would impact the Keller area. [6]

To assist with the increased level 3 evacuations, the Keller Ferry resumed service from the northern launch only, but is running overnight, contrary to regular scheduling which stops at dusk. [7] The ferry was not performing any non-evacuation runs during that time. [8]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keller Ferry</span>

The Keller Ferry or Clark Ferry, is a ferry crossing on Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in the US state of Washington. The crossing carries State Route 21 between the Colville Indian Reservation in Ferry County and Clark in Lincoln County. The ferry has been in operation since the 1890s and under state control since 1930. During that time, five vessels have served the crossing, including the Martha S., which operated from 1948 to 2013, and the current ferry, the M/V Sanpoil.

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State Route 21 (SR 21) is a 191.34-mile-long (307.93 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington that traverses four counties: Franklin, Adams, Lincoln and Ferry. The highway extends from an intersection with SR 260 in Kahlotus north through Lind, Odessa, Clark, Keller, Republic and Curlew before becoming Highway 41 (BC 41) at the Canadian border in Danville. SR 21 is concurrent with U.S. Route 2 (US 2) in Wilbur and SR 20 in Republic and has two diamond interchanges at US 395 in Lind and Interstate 90 (I-90) south of Odessa. Between Lincoln and Ferry counties, the roadway crosses Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake on the Keller Ferry, operated fare free by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Department of Highways (DoH) since 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanpoil River</span> River in Okanagan Highlands, United States

The Sanpoil River is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is named for the Sanpoil, the Interior Salish people who live along the river course. The name is from the Okanagan term [snpʕʷílx], meaning "people of the gray country", or "gray as far as one can see".

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The Sanpoil are a Native American people of the U.S. state of Washington. They are one of the Salish peoples and are one of the twelve members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nespelem people</span> Ethnic group

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The Colville people, are a Native American people of the Pacific Northwest. The name Colville comes from association with Fort Colville, named after Andrew Colvile of the Hudson's Bay Company. Earlier, outsiders often called them Scheulpi, Chualpay, or Swhy-ayl-puh; the French traders called them Les Chaudières in reference to Kettle Falls. The neighboring Coeur d'Alene called them Sqhwiyi̱'ɫpmsh and the Spokane knew them as Sxʷyelpetkʷ. Their name in nselxcin, sx̌ʷýʔłpx, refers to "sharp pointed trees".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kettle River Range</span> Mountain range in Canada and the United States

The Kettle River Range, often called the Kettle Range, is the southernmost range of the Monashee Mountains, located in far southeastern British Columbia, Canada and Ferry County, Washington, in the United States. Most of the northern half of the range is protected by the Colville National Forest and the southern half of the range is located on the Colville Indian Reservation. The highest peak is Copper Butte, which reaches 2,177 metres (7,142 ft). The range is crossed by Washington State Route 20 at Sherman Pass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swawilla Fire</span> 2024 Wildfire in Washington

The Swawilla Fire is a large actively burning wildfire in Ferry and Okanogan counties, located in the U.S. state of Washington. The fire has been burning since July 17, 2024, and is currently 60% contained. It is the sixth fire to burn more than 1,000 acres as part of the 2024 Washington wildfire season, and is the largest fire of the entire season, at 53,343 acres covered as of August 3.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Keller, Washington
  2. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Keller CDP, Washington". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved October 24, 2016.[ dead link ]
  3. Miller, J. (July 20, 2024). "Swawilla Fire forces Keller Ferry to remain closed". Fox28. Spokane, WA.
  4. Hanlon, J. (July 24, 2024). "Evacuation level raised for growing Swawilla Fire on Colville Reservation". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  5. NCLife staff (July 25, 2024). "Residents of Keller told to get out as Swawilla Fire approaches". NCLife. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  6. Iverson, F. "Keller Ferry resumes operations for evacuation support in Swawilla fire". KHQ. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  7. "Keller Ferry". Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 25, 2024.