NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Lawmakers: More resources needed to fight wildfires
Analysts said
Oregon fire
season will be
above average
By AUBREY WIEBER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Saturday
marked the official start of
Oregon’s wildfire season,
but without new resources
the state is only incremen-
tally more prepared to com-
bat fire this summer than in
past years.
Over consecutive sum-
mers, fire ripped through
iconic landscapes, endan-
gered communities and
choked towns with blan-
kets of smoke. The state has
already seen more than 1,000
acres burn this year.
In a winter where prior-
ities abound, wildfire pre-
paredness has not come out a
winner.
“In this biennium, we
need a lifeline for our com-
munities,” said state Rep.
Pam Marsh, R-Ashland.
Marsh’s district was ablaze
through much of the summer,
with fire coming dangerously
close to structures.
In addition to putting the
community in danger, wild-
fires had massive economic
impacts. The famous Shake-
speare festival had to cancel
Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Forestry
Lawmakers call for more resources as Oregon heads into an-
other fire season analysis say will again be above average.
events, costing it an estimated
$2 million.
Firefighters checked the
wildfires, Marsh said, but the
scorched town of Paradise,
California, is a reminder that
Ashland may not always be
so lucky.
Marsh said that’s why
Gov. Kate Brown’s proposed
budget “set off” her constitu-
ents. It included resources to
staff a wildfire council, which
Brown created through exec-
utive action this winter, but
that council won’t have any
impact until the fall at the ear-
liest. Then, funding would
still need to be acquired to
carry out recommendations.
Brown proposed no addi-
tional funding to bolster the
state’s response to this sum-
mer’s fires.
“It didn’t have any imme-
diate relief for the commu-
nity,” Marsh said. “What
it had was a wildfire coun-
cil. People were upset that
there seemed to be long-
term thinking, but nothing
to provide something for this
season.”
Despite a strong snow-
pack, a state analysis predicts
another above average fire
season. It’s what’s referred to
as “the new normal.”
That’s why Marsh is work-
ing to get $6.8 million for
wildfire mitigation and sup-
pression before the 2019 leg-
islative session ends. The
package would give the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
more resources to fight fire,
help communities implement
smoke shelters to shield vul-
nerable people when heavy
smoke billows into town and
provide more resources to the
front lines to stop fires from
growing.
The plan is endorsed by
representatives David Brock
Smith, R-Port Orford, Jack
Zina, R-Bend, Paul Evans,
D-Monmouth, Kim Wallan,
R-Medford, Tiffany Mitch-
ell, D-Astoria, Anna Wil-
liams, D-Hood River, Marty
Wilde, D-Eugene, Gary
Leif, R-Roseburg, Brad Witt,
D-Clatskanie, Andrea Sali-
nas, D-Lake Oswego, Cheri
Helt, R-Bend and Sen. Jeff
Golden, D-Ashland.
It’s a stopgap measure,
Marsh said, but a much
needed one. Marsh supports
Brown’s fire council, which
she hopes will push the state
to a more proactive approach
that includes better land man-
agement, prescribed burns
and more resources.
“We are coming into this
session having just experi-
enced the two most expen-
sive fire seasons in our state’s
history,” Marsh said. Last
summer’s season cost $514
million.
Marsh is hoping to get
the money in June through
agency budgets rather than a
bill.
She has wide support, but
she’s lacking an endorsement
from Brown. Brown has sig-
naled to lawmakers that she
wants the council to come up
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Beautiful with
clouds and sun
Periods of sun with
a t-storm
A shower in the
afternoon
Breezy with
episodes of sunshine
Partly sunny and
warmer
82° 52°
64° 44°
Oregon house approves bill
making it easier to expunge
old marijuana convictions
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
78° 49°
67° 45°
64° 47°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
72° 48°
83° 51°
74° 48°
71° 50°
OREGON FORECAST
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
60/49
75/50
77/50
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
84/56
Lewiston
64/48
87/58
Astoria
61/49
Pullman
Yakima 80/54
64/45
84/56
Portland
Hermiston
67/50
The Dalles 86/57
Salem
Corvallis
67/48
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
80/49
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
70/48
80/46
83/49
Ontario
90/57
Caldwell
Burns
84°
54°
77°
51°
100° (1970) 40° (1980)
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
67/48
0.00"
0.00"
0.11"
4.42"
4.96"
5.22"
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
86/54
SALEM (AP) — Those with outdated
marijuana convictions will be able to have
their records expunged faster under an Ore-
gon bill approved by the House.
Lawmakers voted 42-15 on Tuesday
to ease some of the bureaucratic hurdles
involved in setting aside marijuana convic-
tions that occurred before the state legalized
the drug in 2015.
Those seeking expungement will no lon-
ger have to pay a fee nor will they have to
provide fingerprints or undergo a back-
ground check.
Rep. Janelle Bynum says those with out-
dated convictions have trouble securing
housing and employment and that they are
“still paying the price for actions that we
have decriminalized.”
Bynum, the only black member of the
House, adds that this issue disproportionally
affects people of color. The ACLU reported
in 2013 that blacks were 2 times more likely
to be arrested for marijuana possession in
Oregon than whites.
The Senate already approved the measure
WINDS (in mph)
87/57
83/48
0.00"
0.00"
0.24"
9.28"
6.07"
6.75"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 78/44
68/48
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
82/52
74/54
80°
45°
75°
51°
98° (1969) 35° (1991)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
64/46
Aberdeen
73/51
73/51
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
65/50
fighting resources. Oregon
will have access to new infra-
red technology to see through
thick smoke.
But Brown said she wants
to see more thinning and pre-
scriptive burns on federal
lands. Steps she can’t directly
act on.
“We are going to continue
to advocate — I am going
to continue to work with my
governors, Republican and
Democrat in the West — to
continue to push for more
resources on the local level,”
Brown said.
Brown’s natural resources
policy advisor, Jason Miner,
said there are two National
Guard battalions in Oregon
trained for the season with a
third coming. The Forestry
Department is training 600
seasonal firefighters, and has
230 more on the way.
Miner said the wildfire
council would pursue long-
term changes as well. Marsh
and Evans say constituents
are uneasy after watching the
state burn year after year.
“I don’t want to get in the
way of what the governor is
trying to do with her council,”
Evans said. “That said, I’m
very committed to reorga-
nizing, in a rational way, our
entire emergency manage-
ment delivery system. What
we have right now made sense
20 years ago. It doesn’t make
sense for tomorrow, and it
really warrants our attention.”
BRIEFLY
Forecast for Pendleton Area
86° 57°
with recommendations first,
then get money.
It’s what Evans, chair of the
House Veterans and Emer-
gency Preparedness Commit-
tee, called a “measure twice,
cut once,” approach.
Evans is also pushing a
proposal. He introduced HB
3439, which seeks to simplify
the state disaster response
process. It would also make it
easier to make an emergency
declaration. Evans wants ded-
icated personnel assigned
to vulnerable fire areas so
they can strike as soon as the
sparks do.
“We made decisions
through land use, and quite
frankly market econom-
ics, that allowed for people
to build in areas where there
are great views,” Evans said.
“Unfortunately, places where
there’s a great view are also
places fire wants to go to
most.”
At Brown’s request, Evans
isn’t pursuing his legislation,
but intends to bring the con-
cept up next session.
“There were a lot of other
issues that were on her table,
and she wanted to give this
appropriate time and study,”
Evans said. “It was a proposal
that was new to her.”
When asked about where
her priorities lie, Brown said
the state is more prepared
going into this season than
last. She said the state is better
aligned with the federal fire-
Thu.
WSW 7-14
WNW 6-12
WSW 8-16
WSW 7-14
but has to approve a technical change before
it heads to the governor.
Appeals court upholds the
dismissal of three Oregon
basketball players
SEATTLE (AP) — A U.S. appeals court
has rejected an appeal brought by three Uni-
versity of Oregon basketball players who said
they were discriminated against when they
were kicked out of school over rape allegations.
A female student accused Dominic Artis,
Damyean Dotson and Brandon Austin of
raping her at a party in 2014, allegations that
prompted protests on campus. No criminal
charges were filed and the three maintained
the sexual contact was consensual, but the
school dismissed them over code-of-conduct
violations.
The players sued in 2015, saying they suf-
fered gender discrimination, among other
claims. A federal judge threw out their law-
suit. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unani-
mously upheld that decision.
The panel said the three failed to make a
plausible claim of discrimination.
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
81/44
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:07 a.m.
8:40 p.m.
7:18 a.m.
11:12 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
June 9
June 17
June 25
July 2
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 104° in Needles, Calif. Low 27° in Leadville, Colo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
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ice
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cold front
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