Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Saturday, August 10, 2019 Progress at HK Complex challenged by storms Complex fires 30% contained with eight fires completely contained mostly took place from the planned merging of the two fires so that crews can further secure lines around them. Both the Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry are partnering in certain areas and are prepar- ing for the risk of “abundant lightning” in the area spark- ing more. On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning until 10 a.m. on Saturday due to potentially strong thunderstorms bring- ing lightning, heavy rain and hail along with “erratic” wind gusts of up to 50 mph to the area. Last weekend, light- ning in the area originally ignited the fires. Preparations include ana- lyzing the different fire areas, which according to Maloney each feature unique topogra- phy challenges to confront. “It’s important to identify key trigger points at each of the areas so our crews know at how much wind and how much rain they need to pull firefighters the heck out of there,” she said. At Friday morning’s brief- ing, Maloney said all fire- fighters were instructed to review page 21 of their safety handbooks. Page 21 outlines guidelines to follow in thun- der and lightning storms and things to consider such as sounds and atmospheric con- By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian HEPPNER — Crews con- tinue to make “good prog- ress” on the HK Complex Fires in the Umatilla National Forest with lightning fore- casts threatening to start more, according to a press release on Friday morning. The release from North- west Incident Management Team 6 states that the fires are 30% contained with eight fires that have been com- pletely contained. In total, the fires have burned 2,655 acres, which is 200 acres larger than Thursday’s report. The fires are reportedly burning out along three miles of line east of Tupper Butte. Many of the small fires have been contained and crews continue to mop them up and patrol the area, while the Sulfer Springs and Little Bear fires have merged at the 21 Road. Lauren Maloney, pub- lic information officer for Northwest Incident Manage- ment Team 6, said the addi- tional 200 acres of burning Photo contributed by Umatilla National Forest Firefighters and members of the Incident Management Team meet on Friday morning at the Mor- row County OHV Park, where a fire camp has been set up as they battle the HK Complex fires. ditions that can alert crews when they need to leave area. The weather may help some of the crews’ efforts too. “Fortunately it looks like we’re going to get some rain,” Umatilla National Forest public affairs officer Darcy Weseman said. That rain can help dampen some of the fires, she said, and will help lower the fire risk in coming days with the lower temperatures that accompany it. However, Maloney said Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY A shower and t-storm around Intervals of clouds and sunshine Partly sunny and beautiful Nice with clouds and sun Pleasant with plenty of sunshine 78° 59° 78° 53° the rain also means that crews must consider road condi- tions with many of them around the fire areas being unpaved. She said crews are being thoughtful with what large equipment they use and where they use it to avoid get- ting stuck in the mud. “Personally, I’m going to allow extra time to drive safely between areas and not feel pressured by time,” Maloney said. Weseman acknowledged that the rain can also lead to what she calls “sleeper fires,” Brown signs bill to encourage more affordable housing options By SARAH ZIMMERMAN Associated Press PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 83° 57° 80° 52° 82° 57° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 83° 61° 81° 57° 86° 58° 83° 55° 86° 60° 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 68/59 76/55 82/57 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 79/60 Lewiston 74/58 84/62 Astoria 68/58 Pullman Yakima 82/61 73/56 81/62 Portland Hermiston 77/60 The Dalles 83/61 Salem Corvallis 73/54 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 74/55 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 73/55 71/47 74/52 Ontario 81/58 Caldwell Burns 89° 67° 89° 59° 107° (1972) 43° (1931) 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 74/56 Boardman Pendleton Medford 71/57 0.00" 0.00" 0.06" 4.56" 5.10" 5.98" WINDS (in mph) 81/57 74/42 Trace Trace 0.10" 9.61" 6.49" 8.05" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 71/50 75/56 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 78/59 80/62 86° 58° 89° 59° 111° (1898) 43° (1901) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 74/58 Aberdeen 78/57 79/63 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 73/59 Today Sun. SW 6-12 W 4-8 WSW 8-16 WSW 10-20 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 64/39 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Full Last New Aug 23 Aug 30 Sep 5 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 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 low Keeney Meadows wolves confirmed by camera Army Corps reports suspected oil leak into Snake River JOHN DAY — Two wolves seen east of Highway 395 and north of Mount Vernon don’t appear to have bred, and there’s been no evidence of livestock depredations. According to Ryan Platte, of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s John Day Field Office, trappers first reported seeing two black wolves in the Hog Creek and Long Creek Mountain area during the past winter. ODFW personnel found the wolf tracks in the snow and set up trail cameras. There were no hits until June after the cameras were relocated, Platte said. First they had a photo of a single wolf, then another photo with another wolf and finally a sequence of one and then the other, he said. A rancher working on a fence in the Kee- ney Meadows area reported in June seeing one wolf for sure and maybe a second, Platte said. Platte said ODFW believes the two are a male and female because one is larger than the other. No pups have been photographed by the trail cameras, which are checked about every two weeks, he said. RICHLAND, Wash. — Up to 300 gal- lons of oil may have leaked into the Snake River from a power-generating turbine at Lower Monumental Dam. The Tri-City Herald reports the Army Corps of Engineers reported the suspected spill this week, but it’s unclear when it happened. The Army Corps disclosed the incident to regulators and the environmental group Columbia Riverkeeper under the terms of a 2014 settlement agreement. Columbia Riverkeeper had sued to stop oil releases from the eight dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers. The group issued a statement Thursday calling the most recent disclosure the latest in a series of spills that highlight the threat posed by the four aging Snake River dams. The Corps reported that 200 to 300 gallons of unspecified “turbine oil” may have leaked from a turbine shaft at Lower Monumental. — EO Media Group and Associated Press 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 Association. “Oregon has taken incredible first steps in addressing its housing crisis.” It’s estimated that nearly 2.8 million people live in cit- ies affected by the law, which was inspired by a Minneapo- lis city ordinance. A lack of affordable hous- ing is part of the reason behind soaring rents, experts suggest. From 2000-16, Ore- gon produced only 89 houses for every 100 families, according to state data. The period following the Great Recession saw some of the lowest growth, with only 63 units produced for every 100 households from 2010-16. Thousands of people have poured into the state for jobs and in some cases, for a lower cost of living. One in three renters pays more than 50% of income on rent. That’s far higher than the Congressional-set defini- tion of housing affordability, which suggests setting aside 30% toward housing costs. BRIEFLY First NATIONAL EXTREMES Aug 15 SALEM — Oregon hopes to build its way out of its housing crisis under first-in- the-nation state legislation signed by Gov. Kate Brown Thursday meant to encour- age local cities to construct denser, more affordable housing options. The law targets a cen- tury-old practice known as “exclusionary single fam- ily zoning,” where local city governments only allow for the construction of sin- gle-family homes. The zon- ing often prohibits multi- family residences including duplexes, triplexes and others that are often more inexpen- sive. Critics say the practice has acted as a form of eco- nomic and racial segregation. “If a community is filled with only large and expen- sive homes, that often restricts who can move there,” said Robert Silver- man, a professor of urban and regional planning at the Uni- versity of Buffalo. “Couple that with the other historical barriers that have prevented minorities from homeown- ership and this all works to perpetuate segregation in communities.” Under the new law, cities with more than 10,000 resi- dents must now allow for the construction of some type of what’s known as “missing middle housing,” or hous- ing types that are some- where between high-rise apartments and single-family homes. The move comes months after the governor signed the nation’s first rent control law, limiting rent increases to about 10% annually. “States across the coun- try should pay attention to what Oregon is doing on housing,” said David Morely, a senior research associate with the American Planning 5:49 a.m. 8:12 p.m. 5:04 p.m. 1:24 a.m. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 109° in Thermal, Calif. Low 37° in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. where fires can be smoldered but not completely put out by the rain, and then reignited by strong winds. To address that risk, Maloney said there will be five engines and crews on a night shift that will patrol the area tonight. “We need to be extra vig- ilant with lightning in the area,” she said. The release warns that when lightning is active, peo- ple should seek shelter in a vehicle or building. If you are outdoors and cannot find shelter, the release says to find a place low to the ground that’s away from tall trees, wire fences, utility lines and other conductive devices. After 474 personnel being assigned to the fires as of Thursday, Friday’s release reports there are 448 per- sonnel currently assigned. Resources include multiple engines and crews along with multiple fixed-wing and heli- copter aircraft. Aviation resources and lookout towers that are tasked with monitoring the complex’s current fires and detecting new ones may not be operational if the area is hit with lightning and high winds, according to Weseman. The fire danger rating remains high and public use restrictions on chain saws remain in effect according to the release. A closure order also remains in effect due to fire activity in the area. A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday night about the HK Complex Fires. It will be located at Hepper City Hall on 111 North Main Street. “The intent is to share information and update locals about the status of the fires,” Weseman said. “And also to provide an opportu- nity for people to ask ques- tions about the efforts.” 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
