Body Pulled From Lake Scajawea—Classic Hits 100.7 KLOG News
May 29, 2026
The community continues to grieve following Tuesday’s tragic events at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, as more victims are recovered and identities continue to come out. During a press conference yesterday afternoon, officials confirmed that six of the nine missing victims had been recovered and said crews believed they were close to reaching the remaining three.
That is in addition to the two workers who previously died at the hospital. The names known at this time include Braydon Finkas, John Forsberg, Jared Ammons, Clint “CJ” Doran, Dale Miller, Dillon Miller, Jeremy Cochran, Gilbert Bernal, and brothers Tyler and Brad Covington. Seven other employees remain hospitalized, while the firefighter injured during the response has since returned to duty.
Officials said the six newly recovered victims were found in an area where workers gathered for pre-shift meetings and assignments. The catastrophic tank failure happened around 7:15 a.m., near shift change at the facility. Longview Fire Chief Brad Hannig said the recovered victims were being sent for decontamination before transport to the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office, which will continue notifying families.
During the briefing, Longview Battalion Chief Matt Amos said conditions surrounding the damaged tank remained largely unchanged, though officials said they were confident in the safety of areas crews have designated as secure. Officials had previously estimated that roughly 25,000 gallons of the highly corrosive chemical known as white liquor remained inside the damaged tank.
911 calls from Tuesday were also released yesterday, providing additional insight into the scale and chaos of the tank failure immediately after it occurred.
In a statement, Chris Collins again emphasized that the city’s drinking water remains safe despite the spill. Collins said Longview’s water supply comes from protected underground aquifers located roughly 200 feet below the surface. He added that the city continuously monitors water quality and that the system is designed to automatically shut down before contaminated water could ever reach the public supply.
Warnings remain in place to avoid drainage ditches and dikes around Longview. Officials say anyone who comes into contact with water in affected areas should wash off as quickly as possible. Authorities also confirmed that Lake Sacajawea remains unaffected.
The Washington State Department of Ecology says water testing is continuing to ensure discharge into the Columbia River remains at levels considered safe for human contact. Officials say the river is currently still safe for fishing and recreational activities.
The cause of the catastrophic tank failure remains under investigation. Since the incident, Nippon Dynawave says the pulp mill has been shut down except for a minimally staffed industrial wastewater treatment operation.
