OEM Mentions
OPB, Oct. 20 - Inside Mary Kuhl’s 4th grade classroom at McCornack Elementary, a couple of dozen youngsters paused as an announcement came over the PA system. “Good morning, MCCornack. This morning we are participating in an earthquake drill called the Great Shakeout with hundreds of thousands of people across the state of Oregon…” Moments later, the kids all duck under their tables or chairs, as Mrs. Kuhl explained why. “And the reason we’re holding on is so that if the earth continued to shake and the table moved, you would move with it.” Among those observing the shakeout at McCornack Elementary was Matthew Marheine, deputy director of the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. (See also: KGW, KEZI, KTVZ, KPIC, KVAL, KLCC, KPTV, Oregon State Treasury)
Air Quality & Smoke
KOIN, Oct. 20 - After several consecutive days of unhealthy air quality in the greater Portland area, the Oregon Department of Environmental Equality says it has extended the air quality advisory to last until at least Monday, Oct. 24. Oregon DEQ has also expanded the prior air quality advisory to Polk, Yamhill and Deschutes counties.
KATU, Oct. 20 - Seattle and Portland began Thursday with the worst air quality in the world among major cities, according to iqair.com. The smoke is coming from stubborn wildfires burning right now all the way from Oregon up to British Columbia. Vancouver, BC, has the 10th-worst air quality in the world as of 6 a.m. (See also: KXL)
Canby Herald, Oct. 20 - As wildfire smoke continues to be in the area, Clackamas County opened three air quality relief centers on Thursday, Oct. 20. The Clackamas County Public Health Division also issued an air quality health advisory.
La Grande Observer, Oct. 20 - A haze of smoke covering parts of Oregon and western Washington is expected to clear before the week's end, but only after the region reached a dubious distinction: Portland and Seattle briefly topped a list of large cities with the worst air quality in the world. The smoke comes from several wildfires burning in Oregon and Washington, and several days without rain allowed it to linger and thicken. A new weather pattern was expected to hit the region Friday, according to a National Weather Service forecast, bringing multiple rounds of rain that will help scrub the air of pollutants. (See also: Baker City Herald, Blue Mountain Eagle)
The Oregonian, Oct. 21 - Throw open those windows! At least for now. After days living with some of the worst air quality in the nation, Portlanders can now breathe easier. Air-quality monitors around the Portland metro area on Friday morning are all in the “good” category thanks to the arrival of winds and cooler temperatures.
Mail Tribune, Oct. 24 - Children breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, and their lungs are still developing, making children uniquely vulnerable to wildfire smoke seeping into buildings, according to Sara Jones, community engagement coordinator for the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project. Thanks to $40,000 in grant funds from Oregon State University’s ASP3IRE Center, new air filtration systems will be installed in four indoor spaces serving children in Ashland.
Climate, Weather & Environment
KVAL, Oct. 23 - NOAA's predicting a wetter and colder winter that might include more snow for Oregon this winter. It's the third year the Pacific Ocean has seen cooler sea surface temperatures. This is known as a La Niña winter. Meteorologists and weather enthusiasts from across the Pacific Northwest came together Saturday morning at OMSI. The Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) hosted its 30th Annual Winter Weather Forecast Conference to break down the chance of a colder and potentially snowier weather pattern for the Pacific Northwest. (See also: East Oregonian)
Firefighting & Mitigation
KTVL, Oct. 20 - It may be late October, but we are still not quite out of the woods for fire season. “Every district in the state of Oregon is still in fire season, which is somewhat rare,” Brett Nixon with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) said. According to Nixon, to date, the state has had 820 total fires, which is down from the ten-year average of 1,024 total fires. (See also: Mail Tribune, KLCC)
Columbia County Spotlight, Oct. 21 - The Scappoose Fire District is at the forefront of efforts to expand the use of drones for emergency response in the region. Unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, are a growing resource in emergency response. Using a UAS "significantly reduces workload, shortens work times, and creates efficiencies that not only benefit the public safety users, but also the public," Scappoose Fire District Chief Jeff Pricher said.
KATU, Oct. 21 - A U.S. Forest Service employee in Oregon was arrested this week by a county sheriff after a prescribed burn in a national forest spread onto private land. It was the latest episode that underscores tensions simmering in rural, conservative eastern Oregon over management of federal lands. (See also: KEZI, KPIC, Corvallis Gazette-Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Spokesman-Review)
KDRV, Oct. 22 - The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal is planning to host an educational webinar this coming November, on upcoming grant programs for community wildfire preparedness programs. Officials say these grants will give local community leaders, Oregon counties, fire service agencies, and organizations additional support to create defensible space and prepare their communities for wildfire.
KOBI, Oct. 22 - The Oregon Department of Forestry has announced that fire danger levels on ODF-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties will be reduced to low starting October 23rd. ODF says it made this choice after recent fall-like weather and widespread rain in the region. (See also: KDRV)
KTVL, Oct. 23 - Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Medford District officials announced yesterday that they are reducing public use restrictions on BLM-managed lands in southern Oregon. As of 12:01 am this morning, BLM-managed lands in Jackson and Josephine Counties has moved to a low fire danger level thanks to widespread rain and cooler temperatures.
Cedar Creek Fire
KMTR, Oct. 21 - Nearly three months after it began the Cedar Creek Fire is just over halfway contained. The fire has burned more than 127-thousand acres since it began on August 1, and is now at 55 percent containment. According to fire officials, ground crews have been continuing to mop up operations throughout the area of the Cedar Creek Fire. With low temperatures forecasted for this weekend and potential rain and snowfall officials say they are pausing air operations over the Cedar Creek Fire. (See also: KPIC, KVAL)
KTVZ, Oct. 22 - Welcome, widespread rain and snow fell Saturday on the 127,000-acre Cedar Creek Fire near Waldo Lake, cooling the blaze and reducing fire activity, but also bringing potentially risky working conditions that prompted officials to pull crews off the lines until the area can be scouted for safety. (See also: Central Oregon Daily, KPIC)
KBND, Oct. 24 - More areas of the Deschutes National Forest have reopened, as containment increases on the Cedar Creek Fire. Jean Nelson-Dean, with the Forest Service says more sections of the Pacific Crest Trail are open along with all of Davis Lake, “We’ve completed the work we needed to do to provide a fuel break around the fire, and we’ve been able to move our heavy equipment out of the area. We’re opening up around Cultus Lake [but] not all of Cultus Lake. And Little Cultus Lake continues to be a closed area.” (See also: KTVZ)
Health & Social Services
KAJO, Oct. 21 - New COVID-19 cases dipped in Jackson and Josephine counties over the past week, but they rose statewide. According to the Mail Tribune, the Oregon Health Authority reported 148 new cases in Jackson County over the past week -- down from 197 new cases the week before. For Josephine County, OHA reported 95 new cases for the past week -- a drop from 147 new cases the previous week.
Housing & Shelter
KTVZ, Oct. 21 - The mayor of Portland, Oregon, plans to ban camping on city streets and move unhoused people to designated campsites, as the growing homeless population has become the top concern for the vast majority of residents. The resolution would establish at least three large, designated outdoor camping sites, with the first opening within 18 months of securing funding. Wheeler didn’t specify when the funding would be confirmed or how much the measure would cost. (See also: Mail Tribune, Portland Mercury, KATU)
The Astorian, Oct. 21 - Clatsop County may use American Rescue Plan Act funds to help the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority acquire the staffing needed to create affordable housing. At a county Board of Commissioners work session on Wednesday, County Manager Don Bohn laid out a plan to give the housing authority $325,000 over three fiscal years.
Infrastructure, Transportation & Utilities
KVAL, Oct. 20 - Rain and snow is on its way! That's great for the drought situation and the prolonged wildfire smoke that's expected to clear this weekend. This will be the first rain chance Oregon's seen in nearly a month. That means ash, vehicle fluid, and fall leaves will add to the potentially slick roads. "The first rains of the season are usually some of the most dangerous because of the rainwater mixing with the oils and other chemicals on the road," said Chief Meteorologist Josh Cozart. (See also: Mail Tribune, KEZI)
KDRV, Oct. 20 - An Ashland-based solar power company says today nearly a million dollars of state funding will support an emergency services recharging station there. Stracker Solar says Oregon Department of Energy is awarding $940,000 from its Community Renewable Energy Grant Program for an energy resilience project Stracker designed for the City of Ashland.
Legislative
Curry Coastal Pilot, Oct. 23 - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley recently pressed the Bureau of Reclamation to prioritize Oregon as the agency develops its plans for the drought relief resources that Congress recently provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). “[W]e write to strongly urge the Bureau of Reclamation to provide critical funding to areas in Oregon that have been devastated by the historic, multi-year, extreme drought conditions,” the senators wrote to Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton. (See also: North Coast Citizen)
Mitigation & Preparedness
KOBI, Oct. 20 - Josephine County emergency management will host a seven-week preparedness course. The course started yesterday and goes till November 30th. People who sign up meet once a week for two hours to learn the basics of emergency preparedness. Classes meet at the Josephine County emergency operations center. “Essentially bring in community members to try to teach them skills basic preparedness skills to strengthen themselves their families and the community,” Assistant emergency manager, John Sanders said. (See also: KMVU)
Search & Rescue
KTVZ, Oct. 21 - The Crook County Sheriff's Office is looking for those interested in joining the county's Search and Rescue team and serving their community. There are, of course, many rewards in Search and Rescue, such as excellent backcountry training, association with a great group of people who have common objectives, while knowing you provide a valuable resource to our community. To those of us in Search and Rescue, seeing a lost child or adult reunited with family is a reward beyond explanation! Applicants will be asked to complete a detailed application and complete a personal interview with Executive Board member and the Sheriff and undergo a background check.
Wildfire Recovery
Sandy Post, Oct. 20 - A pair of popular trails were reopened for the first time since the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire scorched the Columbia River Gorge. Both Nesmith Point and Wyeth trails were announced open to hikers Thursday, Oct. 20, by the U.S. Forest Service thanks to thousands of hours of rehabilitation work by Forest Service trail crews, Northwest Youth Corps, American Conservation Experience and Trailkeepers of Oregon.
Mail Tribune, Oct. 21 - On the day of the Almeda Fire, staff at Phoenix Animal Hospital saved themselves and the animals — everything else burned, said Brittney Gilman, office manager for the hospital. They believed, like many other Almeda Fire survivors, that the evacuation was only a formality and they would be able to return soon. Just to be safe, staff members took the patients back to their families. The resident clinic cat, Benjamin, also was taken out of harm’s way. Now, after two years in a temporary location in the Winco Shopping Plaza in Medford, the hospital rebuilding project is in the home stretch of construction.
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