Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Tuesday, August 6, 2019 U.S. Northwest towns ‘woefully unprepared’ as fire risk grows By TOM JAMES Associated Press ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Nestled in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Moun- tains, the bustling Seattle sub- urb of Issaquah seems an unlikely candidate for anxiety over wildfires. The region, famous for its rainfall, has long escaped major burns even as global warming has driven an increase in the size and num- ber of wildfires elsewhere in the American West. But according to experts, previously too-wet-to-burn parts of the Pacific Northwest face an increasing risk of sig- nificant wildfires due to the same phenomenon: Climate change is bringing higher temperatures, lower humid- ity and longer stretches of drought. And the region is uniquely exposed to the threat, with property owners who are often less prepared for fire than those in drier places and more homes tucked along forests than other western states. In Issaquah and towns like it across the region, that takes a shape familiar from recent destructive Califor- nia wildfires: heavy vegeta- tion that spills into backyards, often pressing against houses in neighborhoods with few escape routes. “The only thing that’s keeping it from going off like a nuclear bomb is the AP Photo/Elaine Thompson A development of houses stand next to a forest and in view of Mt. Si in the Cascade foothills of North Bend, Wash. agencies and released in 2018 said the Pacific Northwest had warmed nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900 and that trend would continue into the century, leading to warmer winters and less mountain snowpack. Experts say these long- term changes create a special risk in Pacific Northwest for- ests: Even a modest increase in contributing factors, like days without rain, could make them much more prone to burning. “Those are the kinds of changes that amount to taking a forest and pushing it over the edge,” said Michael Medler, weather,” said Chris Dicus, a California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo professor and head of the Association for Fire Ecology, a national group that studies wildfire. With historically short summers, the densely for- ested coastal territory stretch- ing from northwestern Ore- gon to British Columbia has long been cloaked in a protec- tive veil of moisture, making even medium-sized fires rela- tively rare. But global warming is changing the region’s seasons. A national climate assess- ment prepared by 13 federal Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY WEDNESDAY Mostly sunny and hot Sunny to partly cloudy and hot 101° 67° 99° 65° THURSDAY FRIDAY Partly sunny SATURDAY Pleasant with some sun Not as warm PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 93° 62° 88° 61° 81° 58° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 104° 68° 101° 66° 96° 65° 91° 64° OREGON FORECAST 85° 58° 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 70/57 96/59 101/65 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 102/72 Lewiston 85/58 103/65 Astoria 68/57 Pullman Yakima 102/67 88/54 102/69 Portland Hermiston 89/63 The Dalles 104/68 Salem Corvallis 84/57 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 97/62 Bend 87/56 94/57 98/61 Ontario 102/69 Caldwell Burns State program for children of imprisoned mothers in jeopardy SALEM (AP) — A pro- gram serving children with mothers in prison is in jeopardy after the Ore- gon Legislature ended its funding. The Statesman Journal reports the Family Pres- ervation Project connects more than 400 women at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility with their chil- dren, providing supervised visits, parent coaching, resource centers and post- prison support. One of the project’s pro- grams, Between the Lines, lets incarcerated parents read books into recorders then mail the recording and book to their children. Oth- 0.00" 0.00" 0.03" 4.56" 5.10" 5.95" WINDS (in mph) 100/66 94/55 are more prone to burning than mature forests. But while officials in Cal- ifornia and other states have begun reforming forest-edge building and landscaping rules, such codes are rare in the Northwest, and virtually none apply to houses already built, said Tim Ingalsbee, who heads Firefighters United for Safety Ethics and Ecology, an Oregon-based nonprofit that works to update building codes. “The western slopes of the Cascades and the Northwest are just woefully unprepared,” Ingalsbee said. Wildfires get harder to fight when they penetrate neighborhoods, which hap- pened last year in Paradise, California, where dozens died and thousands of homes burned. Like Paradise, Issaquah has neighborhoods sur- rounded by dense forests, some with only a single road, and strong seasonal winds. California’s fires were a wake-up call, said Rich Burke, deputy fire chief with the Eastside Fire Department, which oversees fire protection in and around Issaquah, popu- lation 39,000. Wildfire-oriented setbacks and less-flammable materials still aren’t written into build- ing codes on the city’s edges. But Burke said the depart- ment now hosts preparedness trainings and has four wild- land fire engines. ers support those taking care of inmates’ children by offering camps, dona- tions and gifts. Funding for the past two bienniums provided $400,000 per biennium, which represents about half of the program’s bud- get, said Family Preserva- tion Project Director Jes- sica Katz. But after state support failed to pass in the recently ended legislative session, there is a scramble to raise $200,000 to continue oper- ating until the next session in February 2020. In the United States, more than 2.7 million chil- dren have parents serving time in prisons and jails. Since 1991, this number has doubled, partially due to increasing female incar- ceration rates. A 2016 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that 68,000 — 8% — of Oregon children have had a parent serve time in prison or jail. An estimated 80% of incarcerated women are mothers to minor children. In 2010, the Oregon Department of Corrections funded the family program at Coffee Creek prison in Wilsonville in an effort to address the impact of incarceration on mothers and their families. PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene 99° 59° 90° 59° 113° (1961) 43° (2002) 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 87/57 0.00" 0.00" 0.05" 9.61" 6.49" 8.00" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 93/61 88/57 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 101/67 99/69 97° 60° 89° 59° 109° (1904) 41° (1911) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 89/56 Aberdeen 97/65 99/71 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 86/61 a fire scientist and chair of Western Washington Univer- sity’s environmental studies department. Exactly when any one part of the region will reach that point is hard to predict, and researchers stressed that unknowns exist in forests that have burned so infrequently in the past. But all pointed to changes already taking place. For instance, the region’s fire danger this year reached above-normal levels three months earlier than at any time in more than 10 years, driven partly by an abnor- mally dry winter. And fire counts are up: As of late June, western Oregon forests had seen double the average number of fire starts from the previous decade — 48 compared with 20. Wash- ington jumped even further, with 194 starts compared with an average of 74. Even the region around Astoria, which frequently gets 100-plus rainy days per year, has seen a dozen small fires in 2018 and 2019, according to data from Oregon’s Forestry Department. That compares with an average of just two per year over the previous decade. Last year, 40% of Wash- ington’s wildfires were on its wetter western side, which was “alarming and a first for us,” Janet Pearce, a spokes- woman for that state’s natu- ral resources agency, said in an email. The risk is ampli- fied by development pat- terns throughout the Pacific Northwest. A 2013 Headwaters Eco- nomics survey of develop- ment within 550 yards of for- estlands found that just six counties along the western foothills of Washington’s Cas- cade mountains host more homes in such zones than all of California. Ray Rasker, who heads the nonprofit land manage- ment research group, cau- tioned the report was nar- rower than others — which count development up to 1.5 miles from any wildland — and other types of wild areas Today Medford 96/64 Wed. NE 3-6 N 6-12 Boardman Pendleton SW 4-8 W 6-12 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 89/53 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 5:44 a.m. 8:17 p.m. 12:35 p.m. 11:44 p.m. First Full Last New Aug 7 Aug 15 Aug 23 Aug 30 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 120° in Palm Springs, Calif. Low 34° in Stanley, Idaho NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY BRIEFLY Passenger train stopped after man makes threats Police: Crash victim beat officer who tried to help her KLAMATH FALLS — Police say a pas- senger train was forced to make an unsched- uled stop in Oregon after a man threatened to harm himself and others. The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year-old Mason Lira of Fresno, California, was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with public trans- portation Sunday. Police say Lira was arrested after the Coast Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle stopped west of Highway 58. Authorities say train personnel con- tacted police around 11 a.m. after Lira made unusual gestures, statements about weapons and threats to passengers and the conductor. First responders were dispatched to the scene at Odell Lake near Shelter Cove. Authorities say no weapons were found, and there were no injuries reported. The train with 272 passengers and 15 crew members was delayed for nearly five hours. PORTLAND — Authorities say a Port- land woman who crashed her motorcy- cle attacked a police officer with his baton when he tried to assist her. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the the officer was responding to another call Friday when he saw the crash. Police say the rider ran away when the officer tried to help her. Authorities say they struggled, and the woman grabbed the officer’s baton and began hitting him. Another officer used his Taser on the woman, and she was arrested. The first officer was treated and released at a hospital. Police identified the woman as 38-year- old Angela Dunson of Portland. She was arrested on attempted assault and other charges. The newspaper says its attempts to reach her by phone were unsuccessful, and it wasn’t clear if she had a lawyer. — Associated Press 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 E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2019, EO Media Group 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high 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. low Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES EZPay 52 weeks 26 weeks 13 weeks Local home delivery Savings (cover price) $13/month 60 percent $173.67 41 percent $91.86 38 percent $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1.50 Tuesday through Saturday Circulation Dept. 800-781-3214 ADVERTISING Regional Publisher and Revenue Director: • Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com Advertising Services: • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Business Office Coordinator • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Business Office Manager: 541-966-0824 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
