Hermiston City Hall will be closed to the public until Jan. 6 while smoke damage from the Tuesday’s fire is cleaned up.
The fire started in the building’s 54-year-old furnace and was put out by Umatilla County Fire District #1 without spreading to other parts of the building.
The city has moved front office staff across the street to the Hermiston Building Department at 215 N.W. Gladys Ave., and utility payments may be made there until cleanup is complete. The office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All water, sewer, and garbage bills can also be made online.
In-person payments for Hermiston Energy Services must now be made at the offices of Umatilla Electric Cooperative at 750 W. Elm Ave.
Other city staff have relocated to outside office space and phone calls will be re-routed to their new locations in the interim.
“The fire department did a really good job of getting to city hall quickly and knocking out the fire,” said Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith. “We’re all thankful for their response.”
The furnace, which is original to the building constructed in the 1965, will be replaced.
