BAKER CITY HERALD • TuEsDAY, JuLY 12, 2022 A5
LOCAL & STATE
Survey: Spring rains eased fire fears
BY MICHAEL KOHN
Oregon Capital Bureau
Significant rainfall this
spring noticeably greened up
the Oregon countryside and
appears to have calmed nerves
across the state, according to a
survey about wildfire danger
conducted in June by the Ore-
gon Values and Beliefs Center.
The survey, conducted from
June 2-11, found that 60% of
respondents felt wildfire was a
threat to their local communi-
ties. In May 2021, that number
was 68%.
The wildfire perception
survey interviewed 1,446 Ore-
gon residents 18 or older. The
survey sought to gauge how
concerned Oregon residents
are heading into what officials
have warned could be a dan-
gerous wildfire season.
In mid-May, Gov. Kate
Brown warned that this year’s
fire season could be extreme
due to drought and climate
change. But May and June
were relatively cool and wet in
the Pacific Northwest, lower-
ing drought levels across the
region.
Oregon’s only remaining
swath of exceptional drought
— the highest level of drought
according to the U.S. drought
monitor — is in an area strad-
dling Crook and Jefferson
counties.
“Considering the extremely
wet spring, it is not a ma-
jor surprise that when asked
about their area of Oregon,
Oregonians’ concern for wild-
fire has decreased a bit since
May of last year,” according to
a statement from the polling
group.
While the fear of fire dan-
ger in the short term has been
slightly lowered, 88% of re-
spondents expect wildfires to
increase during the next 10
years. Nine out of 10 Orego-
nians (92%) see wildfires as a
serious threat to “people living
in Oregon.”
However, not as many peo-
ple believe they are in harm’s
way. Just six out of 10 respon-
dents (60%) see wildfire as
a very or somewhat serious
threat in their communities.
Five out of 10 people (53%)
see wildfires as a direct threat
to themselves and their fam-
ilies.
When asked about their
greatest concerns over the im-
pacts of fire, most Oregonians
(83%) said they were worried
about the health impacts of
smoke. Loss of wildlife and
fish habitat registered as the
second-highest level of con-
cern among Oregonians, with
82% saying they had great or
moderate concern.
Nearly eight out of 10 (79%)
respondents had moderate or
great concern about the loss of
public forestland.
“We already lost so many
trees to logging, we should try
to save as many as we can,”
said Mandee Seeley, a De-
schutes County resident.
Another Deschutes County
resident, Robin Johnson, said
the best way to deal with fires
is for fire officials to attack and
extinguish them instead of let-
ting forest fires burn naturally.
“The fires can quickly get
out of control, so they need to
be managed,” Johnson said.
“In addition, the smoke im-
pacts larger portions separate
from the fire causing respira-
tory issues, and the fire may
take out habitat.”
Survey results show that
75% of Oregonians agree
with Johnson. The remain-
ing respondents lean toward
or agree with, the idea of al-
lowing a wildfire to burn out
naturally.
A respondent from Polk
County, who declined to be
named, was blunter when it
comes to managing wildfire:
“We just can’t let our state
burn to the ground,” she said.
Just how many Oregonians
have had to evacuate due to
wildfire? According to the
survey, 19% of respondents
said they have evacuated their
homes due to wildfire. Some
43% of respondents said they
have an evacuation plan in
place.
The Oregon Values and Beliefs
Center is an independent,
nonpartisan organization. The
center partnered with Pamplin
Media Group and the EO Media
Group, which owns the Baker City
Herald. The survey has a margin of
error of about 2.5%.
Al Crouch/Submitted Photo, File
The Indian Creek fire burns in Malheur County in August 2020.
New poll shows reasons for Republican
Pendleton airport passenger
traffic up 32% in first half of 2022 optimism in Oregon legislative races
Traffic below pre-pandemic peak
BY JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Air travel at Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport, Pendleton, was
up in the first half of this year compared
to last.
Departing and arriving passengers were
higher every month in 2022 than in 2021
Enplanements were up 31.6% and deplane-
ments were up 32.5% for the six-month pe-
riod, according to data from the city.
There were no delayed or canceled
flights during the Fourth of July weekend,
according to Boutique Air’s records, de-
spite widespread chaos in the national air
transport system.
Steve Chrisman, Pendleton economic
development director and interim airport
manager, Erica Stewart, administrative
specialist, reported Boutique in 2021 had
4,108 boardings and 3,994 disembarka-
tions.
The first six months of last year saw
1,725 passengers deplane and 1,803 board.
In the first half of this year, 2,372 passen-
gers departed and 2,285 arrived.
Former airport manager John
Honneman provided figures for previ-
ous years of Boutique’s service. The effect
of the pandemic on flights was dramatic,
dropping from 561 boardings in January
2020 to 58 in April.
Passenger numbers have not yet recov-
ered to their pre-pandemic peak of 642
enplanements in October 2019. That year,
6,763 passengers boarded.
Enplanements fell to 3,565 in 2020, then
rose to 4,108 in 2021. If the trend for the
first half of this year continues, 2022 could
register more than 5,400 boardings.
BY JULIA SHUMWAY
Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM — Republicans ha-
ven’t controlled any branch
of Oregon government since
Barack Obama’s first campaign
for president — but they’re
bullish this year about their
legislative chances.
An internal poll memo pro-
duced for the national Repub-
lican State Leadership Com-
mittee and shared with the
Capital Chronicle suggests that
Republicans have a “rare op-
portunity” to win in Novem-
ber, thanks to low opinions of
President Joe Biden and Ore-
gon’s Democratic leaders.
“Voters across Oregon have
had enough and view Repub-
lican state legislators as the
remedy to get the state out of
a downward spiral and back
on the right track,” committee
spokesman Zach Kraft said in
a statement.
All 60 House districts and
30 Senate districts are new
this year following last year’s
post-census legislative redis-
tricting. Legislative Demo-
crats controlled redistricting,
and independent analyses like
Dave’s Redistricting website
suggest the new districts dis-
proportionately benefit Demo-
cratic candidates.
But polls, both the internal
poll released by Republicans
and earlier public surveys,
show that a majority of Ore-
gon voters aren’t pleased with
the state’s direction. More than
57% of the 600 likely voters
surveyed by national GOP
polling firm Cygnal between
June 28-30 said the state was
on the wrong track.
When asked about generic
legislative candidates, nearly
35% said they would definitely
vote for a Republican, and an-
other 12% said they would
probably vote for the Republi-
can. The same numbers were
10.5% and 32% for Democrats,
giving Republicans a nearly
5-point lead on generic legisla-
tive ballots.
About 52% of respondents
said they disapproved of the
job legislative Democrats were
doing, and 57% said govern-
ment would work better with a
more partisan balance.
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