NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Friday, September 7, 2018
USDA approves emergency grazing, cover crops
for affected ranchers in north-central Oregon
Perdue announced the mea-
sures in a letter sent to
Walden on Sept. 5. Perdue
said the agency is compiling
reported losses to determine
if they will declare a federal
disaster statewide.
According to the North-
west Interagency Coordina-
tion Center in Portland, Ore-
gon has experienced 1,680
fires burning 762,959 acres
in 2018. The 10-year average
from 2006 to 2017 is 2,400
fires burning 733,019 acres,
meaning this year’s fires are
fewer, but larger on average,
than they were over the past
decade.
In a statement, Walden
said fires have not only
impact forests and choked
communities with smoke,
but also devastated farmers
and ranchers — especially in
Wasco and Sherman coun-
ties, where some producers
lost some or nearly all of their
crops.
“I applaud Secretary Per-
due’s prompt approval of my
request to get our farmers
and ranchers the assistance
they need to get back on their
feet after these fires,” Walden
said.
Large fires in the region
include the Substation fire,
which started July 17 and
Area ravaged by
large wildfires
earlier this year
By GEORGE PLAVEN
EO Media Group
Help is on the way for
farmers and ranchers in
north-central Oregon who
lost tens of thousands of
acres of crops in a series of
large wildfires that swept
through the region earlier this
summer.
The USDA on Wednesday
approved emergency graz-
ing for affected ranchers on
Conservation Reserve Pro-
gram, or CRP, land through
Sept. 30. Officials with the
Risk Management Agency
will also allow summer fal-
low wheat growers to plant
cover crops in burned areas to
prevent soil erosion, without
affecting their crop insurance.
The relief comes at the
behest of Oregon congressio-
nal leaders, including Demo-
cratic Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley, and Repub-
lican Rep. Greg Walden,
whose district covers Wasco
and Sherman counties where
the fires raged in July and
August.
USDA Secretary Sonny
Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP
A fast-moving fire raged across Wasco County southeast of The Dalles on Wednes-
day, July 18, 2018. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue has announced relief for farmers
and ranchers affected by wildfires that burned earlier this summer in Wasco and
Sherman counties.
torched 78,425 acres. The
Natural Resources Conser-
vation Service estimates the
fire impacted 31,000 acres of
cropland and standing wheat
over 86 farms in both Wasco
and Sherman counties. One
farmer, 64-year-old John
Ruby of Wasco County, also
died while fighting the fire,
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
SUNDAY
SATURDAY
Sunshine
Mostly sunny and
not as warm
88° 58°
78° 50°
MONDAY
Sunny and
pleasant
TUESDAY
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Pleasant with
some sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
80° 52°
75° 51°
digging a firebreak to protect
his neighbor’s property.
The Long Hollow fire
started just nine days later,
consuming another 33,451
acres south of Dufur. Finally,
the South Valley fire started
Aug. 1, adding another
20,026 acres. All three fires
were either confirmed or
Investigation into couple missing
after fire treated as homicide
Palmer: Evidence
currently being
tested
By RICHARD HANNERS
EO Media Group
71° 48°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 51°
90° 61°
83° 57°
77° 55°
OREGON FORECAST
75° 54°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
84/53
90/53
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
89/62
Lewiston
75/57
91/60
Astoria
68/53
Pullman
Yakima 88/58
74/50
90/62
Portland
Hermiston
82/60
The Dalles 90/61
Salem
Corvallis
78/51
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
86/53
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
81/51
86/46
87/54
Ontario
92/61
Caldwell
Burns
85°
47°
82°
52°
99° (2003) 39° (1961)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
80/55
0.00"
0.00"
0.07"
5.15"
6.65"
6.19"
WINDS (in mph)
91/57
87/44
0.00"
0.00"
0.09"
6.52"
11.37"
8.47"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 84/50
81/54
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
88/58
88/60
85°
52°
82°
53°
102° (1955) 34° (1898)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
74/52
67/58
84/56
85/60
Tacoma
Aberdeen
Spokane
Wenatchee
73/58
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
92/54
Sat.
WSW 6-12
W 4-8
WSW 8-16
W 8-16
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
86/41
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
The investigation into
the couple missing after
their house in Grant County
burned in July is being
treated as a homicide.
Grant County Sher-
iff Glenn Palmer said evi-
dence collected at the scene
of the fire on Nan’s Rock
Road between Mt. Vernon
and John Day is believed
to be of human origin, and
testing is being conducted
by the Oregon State Med-
ical Examiner’s Office in
Clackamas.
The possible remains
have not been identified,
Palmer said in a Sept. 5
press release.
“This agency is not pre-
pared to release any iden-
tities in this case of any-
one,” Palmer said. “As the
investigation
progresses
6:23 a.m.
7:22 p.m.
3:34 a.m.
6:30 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
Sep 9
Sep 16
Sep 24
Oct 2
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 110° in Thermal, Calif. Low 28° in International Falls, Minn.
likely human-caused.
A major concern now is
preventing soil erosion on the
blackened landscape. Farm-
ers were encouraged to plant
cover crops, but since wheat
is normally grown in a sum-
mer fallow rotation, pro-
ducers worried it would put
them under “continuous pro-
duction” under their crop
insurance.
Perdue said the Risk Man-
agement Agency, which reg-
ulates crop insurance, will
make changes to accommo-
date growing cover crops on
affected acres for the 2020
crop year.
Additionally,
ranchers
who lost rangeland for their
livestock will have the abil-
ity to graze animals on land
enrolled in CRP, a program
where the federal govern-
ment pays farmers to take
environmentally
sensitive
land out of agricultural pro-
duction for 10-15 years.
Both Sens. Wyden and
Merkley released statements
saying they will continue to
work toward helping farm-
ers and ranchers recover
from fires. The Oregon Farm
Bureau thanked the senators
in its statement, adding, “The
ability to plant cover crop and
still be compliant with farm
bill programs is critical.”
Wes Jennings, farm pro-
gram chief for the USDA
Farm Service Agency in Ore-
gon, encouraged any farmer
or rancher affected by the
wildfires to contact their local
county FSA office to learn
about what resources may be
available.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Contributed photo
Sharon and Terry Smith
we will release information
to the public as it becomes
available.”
Terry Smith, 67, and
Sharon Smith, 65, have
been missing since their
off-the-grid and isolated
home was destroyed by a
fire July 17-18. Their sil-
ver or light gray 2006 Toy-
ota Tacoma with Oregon
license 714EGG also went
missing.
Two cadaver dogs from
the Crook County Sheriff’s
Office searched the scene
following the fire with neg-
ative results, Palmer said in
an Aug. 2 press release.
HEY
Family and friends told
the Blue Mountain Eagle
about the social nature of
the Smiths and how unusual
it would be for them to dis-
appear for any length of
time without communicat-
ing with their friends and
family.
Cathy Hinshaw, Sharon’s
sister who lives in Hawaii,
told the newspaper she felt
pretty sure from the begin-
ning that the Smiths had
died and were consumed in
the fire. But there were still
unanswered questions.
“I can’t understand where
the truck went,” she said.
She said the sheriff’s
office asked her for a DNA
sample and then three weeks
later asked her to send a
form confirming that they
could use her sample.
Hinshaw said she spoke
to Sharon the evening of the
fire, and Sharon had told her
they were headed to bed.
The Smiths had planned to
clean the caretaker’s house
the next day and then go
fishing.
KIDS...
want to earn some
EXTRA
MONEY?
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Pendleton Round-Up.
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
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showers t-storms
10s
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20s
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30s
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40s
ice
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