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COMPRESSED CROP SQUEEZES CHERRY PRICES Page 3 Capital Press The West s Weekly FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015 Capital Press LACEY, Wash. — The Washington Department of Ecology is reworking its drought response plan, shift- ing the focus from bringing farmers relief this summer to longer-term water projects proposed by cities, irrigation districts, tribes and other pub- lic agencies. The agency has been scrambling for months MORE to respond INSIDE to a steadi- For more ly worsen- drought ing drought storiies please turn without a to Page 4 fi rm spend- ing plan or budget authority from law- makers. With newly appro- priated money fi nally in hand, DOE Director Maia Bellon signed an order Friday set- ting out rules to obtain up to $500,000 for public projects to relieve water shortages causing hardship to fi sh, com- munities and farms. The order represents a change from the plan outlined by DOE to lawmakers last spring, when the agency said it was focusing its drought relief efforts on minimizing crop losses in the Yakima Ba- sin. Back then, DOE proposed spending $4 million or more in the basin on agriculture, compared to $2 million for city water systems and $1.2 million for fi sh survival state- wide. “Those delineations are pretty much out the window,” DOE spokesman Dan Par- tridge said Thursday. DOE says spending in the Yakima Basin hasn’t materi- alized because of the scarcity of water rights to lease. DOE has committed $1.1 million to draw water from about 40 emergency wells, mostly in the Roza Irrigation District in the Yakima Basin. The state and farmers share costs. The agency has said it anticipates spending about $700,000 on water leases be- tween Roza and senior water Turn to WATER, Page 12 Dan Wheat/Capital Press George Hernandez was one of eight wranglers moving 350 pair of cattle from one unburned pasture to another on July 9. Ranchers hope emergency grazing of Conser- vation Reserve Program land can continue. By DAN WHEAT Carlton Complex Fire Started: July 14 by lightning Contained: Aug. 25 Acres burned: 256,108 Lives lost: Rob Koczewski, 67, on July 19, 2014 from a heart attack; John "Danny" Gebbers, 84, on Oct. 21, 2014 from a head injury Homes lost: 277 primary, 50 cabins Other losses: 900 to 1,000 cattle; 500 miles of fencing; millions of board feet of timber Power outage: 3,602 customers for more than a week; 156 for more than 20 days Damage claims against DNR: More than $75 million Suppression cost: $100 million WASH. OKANOGAN NATIONAL FOREST Area in detail OKANOGAN 153 The “donut hole” Okanogan 20 97 153 Brewster 17 173 Pateros Carlton Complex Fire Bridgeport 174 DOUGLAS Chelan 172 Alt 97 Source: Capital Press research Dan Wheat and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Capital Press N 97 5 miles B REWSTER, Wash. — Scorched land- scape shows signs of new life as ranch- ers and orchardists work with govern- ment agencies toward recovery one year after the largest wildfi re in Washington state history. Losses exceeded $100 million. The Carlton Complex Fire, ignited by lightning in the Methow Valley on July 14, 2014, three days later raced 30 miles down the valley, burning homes in the town of Pateros and threatening nearby Brew- ster. Firefi ghters estimated that the blaze, at times, covered four to fi ve acres per second. By the time fi re crews brought it under control, the Carlton fi re had burned 256,108 acres, resulted in the deaths of two people, killed approximately 1,000 cattle and destroyed some 500 miles of fenc- ing and millions of board feet of timber. It also destroyed 277 houses, 50 cabins and knocked out electrical power to 3,602 customers for more than a week. Turn to FIRE, Page 12 Dan Wheat/Capital Press Another load of salvaged timber is trucked downhill July 9 through woods burned in last year’s Carlton fi re northwest of Brewster, Wash. About 18 million out of 30 million board feet damaged in the fi re have been salvaged so far. Marijuana can’t justify new farmland dwellings Oregon lawmakers exclude psychoactive crop from new home rules By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Oregon property owners cannot qualify to build new dwellings in farm zones by growing marijuana, accord- ing to recent revisions to the state’s land use laws. When voters approved a ballot initiative legalizing rec- reational marijuana last year, it sparked concerns that the high-value crop would make it easier to develop homes on farmland. Under Oregon’s land use rules, landowners who gen- erate at least $80,000 in reve- nues from agriculture for sev- eral years can build a dwelling on their property. Oregon is now one of just four states that has legalized marijuana for recreational use. E.J. Harris EO Media Group Turn to POT, Page 12 29-1/#5 By DON JENKINS $2.00 CARLTON FIRE 1 YEAR LATER r Department’s initial budget plan revamped WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM Victims of Washington’s largest wildfi re begin long road to recovery R iv e Ecology lays down rules for drought relief money VOLUME 88, NUMBER 29
