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August 14, 2021
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WEEKEND EDITION
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A MARATHON
COVID-19
Area teen
among
state’s
youngest
fatalities
SEASON
By LIZZY ACKER
The Oregonian
UNION COUNTY
— The Oregon Health
Authority on Thursday,
Aug. 12, announced a
19-year-old woman had
died from COVID-19.
The Union County
woman is one of only four
Oregonians younger than
20 to die with COVID-19
since the pandemic began,
and she appears to be
the third person in her
extended family to die from
the virus in a matter of
weeks.
According to the health
authority, the teen tested
positive for coronavirus
July 27 and died Aug. 10 at
Providence Portland Med-
ical Center. She had under-
lying conditions, according
to the state. The death is
the 29th in Union County
since the pandemic started
last year.
A family member,
reached on Facebook,
declined to comment.
But people who know the
family told The Oregonian/
OregonLive that the young
woman was the grand-
daughter of a Union County
couple who died from
COVID-19 within days of
each other.
The Oregon Health
Authority last week
reported two COVID-19
victims from Union County
whose ages and dates of
death match: a 78-year-old
man who died July 31 and
a 78-year-old woman who
died Aug. 4.
A GoFundMe page set
up in response to the deaths
of the elderly couple said
the couple’s daughter and
granddaughter had also
been hospitalized with
COVID-19. People familiar
with the family said their
granddaughter was a recent
graduate of Union High
School.
It is unclear if any of the
family members were vac-
cinated, although someone
who appears to be part of
the extended family posted
on Facebook: “Trying to
support your wife and
See, Teen/Page A5
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Squad leader Devin Frasier with the Grande Ronde Rappellers prepares to fi ght a fi re northwest of Mount Emily in La Grande on Wednesday, July 21, 2021.
Fire risk in Eastern Oregon at all-time high, according to fire officials
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Simon
Driskell stood outside the
Grande Ronde Rappel Base
under a thick cloud of morning
smoke last month as the air was
fi lled with leftover particulates
wafting in from the Bootleg
Fire raging in Southern Oregon.
He summarized the fi re situa-
tion in Eastern Oregon with one
word — “explosive.”
Nearly 50 wildfi res have been
reported in Eastern Oregon since
Aug. 5 — with approximately
two-thirds of those events
attributed to lightning storms
over the weekend according to
data from the Blue Mountain
Interagency Dispatch Center. In
an ordinary year, most of those
blazes would register less than a
quarter of an acre. This is not an
ordinary year.
“It’s imperative,” Driskell
said of fi ghting fi res early. “If
we can stop it at an acre, we’ve
done our job. If you never
hear of us, we’re doing our job
perfectly.”
The elite group of fi refi ghters
Alex Wittwer/The Obsever
Tulley Bloom, left, sends out a text while Andrew Goshgarian prepares to don his fl ight helmet before deploying to a
fi re on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.
is tasked with fi ghting hard-
to-reach blazes via helicopter
insertion.
They fi ght fi re with metal;
their tools of the trade are chain
saws, shovels and Pulaskis
— axes with an attached hoe
behind the blade. There’s no
water, save for their rations of
water bottles. There is only a
small team — the fi rst load has
only four souls — at the heart
of a fi re.
See, Fire/Page A5
Union County sees slight population increase
Latest census
figures show a
1.7% increase
MORE INSIDE
Population gains in the Port-
land metro region, cen-
tral Oregon and the Willa-
mette Valley drove Oregon’s
growth over the last decade,
according to newly released
2020 U.S. census data.
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
UNION COUNTY
— The Census Bureau
released the 2020 census
on Thursday, Aug. 12,
revealing that Union
County grew in population
by 1.7%.
The population
expanded from 25,748 in
2010 to 26,196 in 2020, an
increase of 448 residents.
Union County is listed as
the 23rd largest county
out of the 36 in Oregon,
while its 1.7% popula-
Page A6
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Mount Emily Recreation Area overlooks the city of La Grande on
April 18, 2021. The 2020 census revealed a population growth of
1.7% in Union County since 2010.
tion increase was the fi fth
smallest growth in the
state.
“The census is very
important because it is
INDEX
Classified ...............B2
Comics ....................B5
Crossword .............B2
Dear Abby .............B6
what guides us for the next
10 years when it comes to
funding and income needs,
among other things,”
Union County Commis-
WEATHER
Outdoors & Rec ...B1
Horoscope .............B2
Lottery ....................A2
Obituaries ..............A3
TUESDAY
Opinion ..................A4
Records ..................A3
State ........................A6
Sudoku ...................B5
sioner Donna Beverage
said.
The 2020 census was
the 24th census to be taken
in the U.S. and marked the
fi rst time that individuals
could respond online.
Local numbers
The population census
from April 1, 2020,
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Sunday
66 LOW
98/60
Hazy and smoky
Hazy and very
hot
SHERIFF PENS LETTER AGAINST MASK MANDATES IN SCHOOL
reported that the city of La
Grande’s population stands
at 13,026, a slight decrease
from the 13,082 reported in
2010. Of that 2020 calcula-
tion, 88.6% are white and
52.8% are female.
Portland State Univer-
sity released a database
that showed Cove saw a
drastic increase, jumping
12.3% from 552 to 620.
North Powder saw another
rather large population
increase — 14.8%.
Union increased by
only 1.5%, and Elgin saw
a 0.4% rise in popula-
tion. Imbler was the single
city in Union County to
decrease in population
according to the census,
See, Census/Page A5
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 95
2 sections, 12 pages
La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas
to news@lagrande
observer.com.
More contact info
on Page 4A.
Online at lagrandeobserver.com