IMBLER — A dust storm the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 5, blew across Highway 82 between La Grande and Imbler and led to a five-vehicle pileup.

Oregon State Police reported the series of wrecks involved 10 people, including three minors ages 4, 16 and 17. One juvenile passenger received medical treatment at Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande.

The crashes started around 6:48 p.m., state police reported, when Veronique Voltaire of La Grande stopped in the highway’s eastbound lane in a black Jeep Patriot because blowing dust reduced visibility to near zero. Dennis Cline of Imbler was driving a white Ford F-150 eastbound and stopped behind the Jeep.

Winona Gaston of Elgin was heading east as well in a white Chevrolet Tahoe, according to state police, and drove into the rear of the Ford, which pushed the pickup into the Jeep.

Dustin Phillips of Elgin was driving east in a black Sorento and crashed into the Tahoe. And Bruce Rogers of Elgin was traveling east in a silver GMC Yukon and collided with the Sorento.

State police also reported an ambulance took a juvenile passenger from the Sorento to the La Grande hospital, where they were treated and released.

The La Grande Rural Fire Department was one of the agencies that responded. Fire Chief Craig Kretschmer said when the cars collided there was zero visibility from the dust.

“You are in a tough spot when something like this happens,” Kretschmer said. “Do you go forward and maybe run into somebody, do you stop and maybe get hit by someone else? You can’t really see the side of the road, so it is hard to pull off to a safe spot.”

Kretschmer said visibility improved by the time the emergency personnel arrived. He also said these kinds of calls about crashes due to windstorms are infrequent.

The crashes and cleanup led to the closure of the highway for approximately two hours. The first two cars drove from the scene, but wreckers towed the other three.

The La Grande City Fire Department, Imbler Rural Fire Department and Union County Sheriff’s Office also responded.