Week of July 25, 2024
Week of July 25, 2024
The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency has issued an Air Quality Advisory for Eastern Lane County related to smoke from local wildfires, particularly the Oakridge Lightning Fires complex and various in fires in southeastern Lane County. The advisory is in effect through Saturday, July 27, 2024, afternoon. Key points of the advisory: Eastern Lane County, including areas such as Vida, Blue River, Oakridge, and the High Prairie area, may experience intermittent periods of smoke. Air quality is...
Millions of acres of national forest lands across Oregon and Washington are continuing to see record breaking dry timber conditions on both sides of the Cascades. These critical conditions are spurring rapid wildfire growth from recent lightning storms including the July 16-17th storms which produced over 2,000 strikes in 48 hours. How many days without rain? Places like the Fremont-Winema and Deschutes national forests in Oregon have surpassed 75 days without wetting rains. And 45 days without...
The Willamette National Forest has issued a temporary emergency closure order for Ray Benson Sno Park, which will be utilized as an incident command post to effectively respond to nearby wildfires and station firefighters. The closure order is effective through October 15, 2024, unless rescinded or modified sooner. Visitors are encouraged to support firefighters and crews working the Pyramid Fire east of Sweet Home by recreating elsewhere in the coming weeks. Nearby recreation options include...
A wildfire reported on the afternoon of July 16th suspected to be human-caused has led to the closure of sections of public lands in the Willamette National Forest. The closure, ordered for for public and firefighter safety, is expected to continue through November 15th, unless rescinded or modified sooner. Fire suppression efforts continue on the Ore Fire, which is burning in steep, rugged terrain 7 miles northeast of Blue River. It had grown to approximately 750 acres by Tuesday. On Sunday, a...
BEND: In June, the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved funding for a new pilot program that encourages builders to construct and sell new homes at prices attainable to median-income earners. The program, called Workforce Home Ownership for Median-income Earners (Workforce HOME), was established in partnership with NeighborImpact, Housing Works, and the Central Oregon Builders Association (COBA). It will provide developers a $30,000 builder credit for each home they...
Several dogs were sickened from salmon poisoning in Oregon recently. Salmon and trout carcasses may harbor bacteria in their blood that can be fatal to dogs. Without treatment, salmon poisoning in dogs is often fatal. Symptoms include severe vomiting and diarrhea. Fortunately, with treatment, most dogs will survive. The bacteria can infect a dog after they eat, bite, or even lick an infected fish carcass. Symptoms may begin showing 5-7 days after exposure. Dog owners should be vigilant about...
In just the last week, Gov. Tina Kotek declared five conflagrations – meaning many structures have burned or the scale of the fires exceeds local resources. They’re the result of some human-caused fires and thousands of lightning strikes earlier in the week that ignited more than 100 new fires. Ruiz-Temple and the Oregon Department of Forestry’s deputy director of fire operations, Kyle Williams, said lightning storms that are expected Friday through Monday will further elevate risk....
RAINBOW: The aroma of grilling hot dogs and hamburgers was only part of the draw for people who turned out last Saturday on the grounds of Orchid Health’s McKenzie River Clinic in Rainbow. There were other attractions besides the free food - ranging from raffle items and gift cards to a bubble machine and kids' games - but the most appreciated thing most people said was the opportunity to once again interact with other community...
More than $27 million is coming to upgrade forests in the Northwest for recreation. The investment is the latest round of funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, which was passed in 2020 and established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. The legislation is aimed at addressing the backlog of maintenance needed on public lands. Tracy Calizon, Northwest Region assistant director for recreation, trails, wilderness, and heritage, for the U.S. Forest Service, said 23...
Big Tech is building its latest technology on intellectual property and uncompensated use of expression, content, and data collected online and in databases. Journalistic content, which is far more than just a collection of facts and is often gathered at great costs to the journalists who report the news, is indispensable to these new AI technologies. The legal regulatory system has lagged behind recent rapid-fire developments in AI. By failing to enforce intellectual property rights, regulators have allowed a handful of companies to further...
Anyone who’s done much driving around Oregon — especially along the coast — knows the state’s bridges have a particular and distinctive style. That style is hard to put your finger on, isn’t it? The bridges themselves are very different from one another. Many of them aren’t even built with the same materials. The spectacular structure that soars over Coos Bay could not be much different in size, technique, and style from the elegant little archway that links Oregon City with West...
Reality can get skewed when there are so many sources of information - books, magazines, newspapers, nurseries, and, most of all, the internet and social media open up lots of room for contradiction. So, how do you find the right answer to gardening questions? Experts from Oregon State University Extension Service stepped up to bust some common gardening myths. Read on to get some research-based answers to 10 common misconceptions. For additional questions, call the OSU Extension Master...
July 15: 9:02 a.m: Restraining Order Service - 39000 blk, Hendricks Park Rd. 9:34 a.m: Restraining Order Service - 39400 blk, Ann Ln. 7:26 p.m: Found Animal - 45200 blk, Goodpasture Rd. 9:29 p.m: Assist, Follow Up - 37300 blk, Parsons Creek Rd. July 16: 1:30 p.m: Abandoned Vehicle - 87800 blk, Cedar Flat Rd. 2:19 p.m: Tree Down – Lat. 44.148785. Long: -122.259232. 2:39 p.m: Fire – Lat. 44.2383. Long: -122.247917. July 17: 11:50 a.m: Violation of Restraining Order - 91700 blk, Blue River Reservoir Rd. 12:02 p.m: Suspicious Conditions -...
July 15: 10:29: McK. Hwy./Goodpasture Rd. Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 15:05: 39000 block, Deerhorn Rd. Medical, Trauma. Confirmed Deceased. 16:02: Greenhill Rd./Bodenhamer Rd. Mutual Aid. Assist with Fire Containment. 18:01: 55000 blk, McK. River Dr. Mutual Aid. Cancelled. 19:20: 89000 blk, Greenwood Dr Medical, Trauma. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. July 16: 16:46: Leashore Dr Medical, General. Patient Assessed, 1 Transported. 18:56: 34000 blk, McKenzie View Dr Mutual Aid. Assist Mohawk Valley Fire with a Brush Fire....
July 17: 08:52: Traffic Crimes, All Except DUII – Hwy. 126E, Milepost 9.5. Trooper observed a motorcycle traveling west at a very high rate of speed. The rider saw trooper and accelerated away, passing multiple vehicles at over 100 miles per hour. The motorcycle disappeared and the information was shared with Springfield and LCSO. This was the same motorcycle that had eluded LCSO earlier this week and LCSO shared a BOLO for. On July 17, the rider was located and arrested without incident. The rider was lodged in the Lane County Jail on...
July 18: 17:25: Medical – 59000 block, N. Belknap Springs Rd. Male, Conscious, Breathing. July 19: 13:48: Medical – 88000 blk, Aufderheide Dr. Male, Conscious, Breathing. July 20: 15:57: Medical - 91000 blk, Horse Creek Rd. Male, Conscious, Breathing. July 21: 08:25: Medical - McKenzie Bridge Airport. Female, Conscious and Alert. The Upper McK. Fire District’s board of directors will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 19th, at the McK. Fire Station, 56578 McK. Hwy. in McKenzie...
