NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
ODF declares fire season statewide
East Oregonian
SALEM — Fire season is
now officially in effect on all
Oregon Department of For-
estry-protected lands.
The
announcement
comes after the ODF North-
west Oregon and North Cas-
cade protection districts
declared fire season July
1. ODF’s Southwest Ore-
gon District was the first to
declare fire season June 1.
ODF protects more than
16 million acres of private,
county, state and federal
land. Fire season is declared
at the local district level, with
restrictions intended to help
prevent human-caused wild-
fires. Declarations are based
on the National Fire Dan-
ger Rating System as well
as other local factors, such
as weather and conditions on
the ground. Fire season gen-
erally runs through Octo-
ber and ends based on local
conditions.
For residents within
ODF’s 12 fire protection
districts, the arrival of fire
season means the end of
unregulated outdoor debris
burning, a leading cause of
wildfire. While permits to
burn may be issued in some
areas, debris burning is gen-
erally prohibited throughout
the summer due to increased
wildfire risk. Violators burn-
ing without a permit will be
583,000
Oregonians
expected to hit
the roads during
holiday
Oregon Department of Forestry Photo, File
Oregon Department of Forestry crews receive their assignment at the Camp Fire Incident
Command Post in November 2018. Fire season is now officially in effect on all Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry-protected lands.
cited and held liable for fire
suppression costs.
Other public use fire
restrictions are also in effect
in several areas. The use of
fireworks, tracer ammuni-
tion and exploding targets
are illegal within ODF pro-
tection boundaries, as well
as other state and federal
lands. Campfires, the mow-
ing of dry, cured grass, cut-
ting and welding, power saw
use and other spark-emitting
activities are regulated at the
THURSDAY
local level, depending upon
the conditions and fire dan-
ger. For example, during low
fire danger, mowing may be
allowed all day. However,
during moderate, high and
extreme fire danger mowing
may be restricted to early
morning or prohibited until
conditions improve.
ODF encourages the pub-
lic to stay informed of cur-
rent fire restrictions by vis-
iting the agency’s Fire
Restrictions & Closures
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
website or calling their local
ODF or protective associa-
tion office.
Forest operators are
required to follow fire sea-
son requirements, includ-
ing providing a water sup-
ply, fire tools, spark arresters
on equipment, and fire
watch. Similar to fire danger
restrictions for the public,
operators must follow rules
under the four-tiered Indus-
trial Fire Precaution Level
(IFPL) system.
Pleasant with
some sun
Beautiful with
periods of sun
79° 54°
85° 57°
Mostly sunny and
pleasant
Mostly sunny and
comfortable
Mostly sunny and
comfortable
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
89° 59°
82° 59°
85° 57°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
90° 61°
94° 63°
87° 63°
90° 61°
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
67/55
71/51
82/52
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
80/58
Lewiston
72/54
85/59
Astoria
68/54
Pullman
Yakima 83/57
73/49
79/56
Portland
Hermiston
75/56
The Dalles 84/59
Salem
Corvallis
75/53
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
73/49
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
79/53
72/45
74/49
Ontario
84/58
Caldwell
Burns
Trace
Trace
0.01"
4.55"
5.10"
5.71"
WINDS (in mph)
81/54
75/42
BAKER CITY — The
Oregon Department of Jus-
tice is conducting a finan-
cial audit of the city of
Sumpter, following Mayor
Greg Lucas’ decision to put
three city employees on paid
administrative leave.
Baker County District
Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said
he talked with Sheriff Travis
Ash about the situation after
Lucas brought the matter to
the sheriff’s attention.
Because neither the sher-
iff’s office nor the district
attorney’s office is equipped
to review a city’s financial
records, Shirtcliff said he
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
83/55
reached out to the Depart-
ment of Justice to conduct
the audit.
In an email to the Herald,
Lucas wrote: “As Mayor of
The City of Sumpter, I have
placed the following, Jeff
McKinney, Julia McKin-
ney, and LeAnne Woolf on
paid administrative leave as
a result of an ongoing inter-
nal investigation. We have
rehired Lee German, our
previous lead city mainte-
nance employee to oversee
continued operations, Tim
Jacobson as his assistant and
retained Jeff Wells as our
parks attendant. Due to the
ongoing investigation we
cannot comment further.”
Kristina
Edmundson,
communications director
for the Department of Jus-
tice, said agency officials
do not comment on pending
cases or investigations.
Julie McKinney is the
city recorder for Sumpter,
population 210, which is
about 28 miles west of
Baker City. Jeff McKinney,
who is her husband, is the
city’s public works director.
Woolf, a former Sumpter
city councilor, is the city’s
assistant city recorder and
finance director.
Woolf said in recent
interview that Lucas told her
on May 14 she was on paid
leave. Woolf said the mayor
placed the McKinneys on
paid leave June 14.
82°
61°
85°
56°
107° (2013) 42° (2003)
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
76/54
0.02"
0.02"
0.02"
9.59"
6.49"
7.59"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 69/46
76/54
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
79/54
78/57
80°
56°
85°
56°
106° (2013) 42° (1955)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
73/52
Aberdeen
74/56
81/58
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
72/58
PORTLAND — AAA
projects a record-break-
ing 48.9 million Ameri-
cans will be traveling for
the Fourth of July holi-
day. That’s the most peo-
ple traveling since AAA
started tracking holiday
travel in 2000.
In Oregon, 583,000
people are expected to
travel for the Fourth of
July.
Marie Dodds, director
of government and public
affairs for AAA Oregon,
said a strong economy is
fueling increased travel.
“Consumer optimism is
healthy. Folks are feeling
good about their personal
economic situations and
they’re willing to spend
their hard-earned money
on things like travel,” she
said. “We’ve certainly
seen that for all of the
State to review Sumpter’s records
SUNDAY
By JAYSON JACOBY
EO Media Group
84° 59°
travel periods this year.”
The Fourth of July is
typically the busiest sum-
mer holiday for travel,
Dodds
said.
Memo-
rial Day and Labor Day
come in second and third,
respectively.
The travel period for
the holiday is defined as
Wednesday, July 3, to Sun-
day, July 7.
“The busiest travel day
will be the day before the
Fourth of July – so July 3,”
Dodds said. “That after-
noon is going to be really
busy on the roadways.”
The peak travel time,
she said, will be roughly
2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m
“Travel times could be
up to four times as long
as the normal trip during
that crunch,” Dodds said.
“If you can avoid that time
on the roadways, that’s
great, but the thing to keep
in mind for the Fourth of
July is that we’re looking
at record travel, so basi-
cally anytime you leave,
you can expect more com-
pany than usual.”
The top Independence
Day domestic travel des-
tinations for AAA Oregon
members are Seattle, Los
Angeles and Las Vegas.
By MEERAH POWELL
Oregon Public
Broadcasting
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
A record-breaking
number of people will
travel for Fourth of July
CORRECTION: In the B1 story “Going the extra mile” a caption under the photo of
an overhead shot of a barrel racer in the story incorrectly identified the rider as Jes-
sica Lewis.
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.
Thu.
WSW 6-12
W 6-12
WSW 7-14
W 6-12
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
75/43
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:11 a.m.
8:48 p.m.
6:06 a.m.
9:54 p.m.
First
Full
Last
New
July 9
July 16
July 24
July 31
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 109° in Needles, Calif. Low 30° in Boca Reservoir, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
PENDLETON
ROTARY FIREWORKS
Sponsored by Pendleton Whisky Music Fest
10 pm, Thursday, July 4th
Spectacular display will be launched
from vacant lot west of WalMart
For more information, contact
Jerry Imsland at 541-276-8245
Media Sponsor:
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
30s
snow
40s
50s
ice
60s
cold front
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