A2 THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
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COVID-19 data for Wednesday, April 14:
PHONE HOURS
Crook County cases: 848 (2 new cases)
Crook County deaths: 19 (zero new deaths)
6 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Friday
7 a.m.-noon Saturday-Sunday
and holidays
GENERAL
INFORMATION
541-382-1811
108 new cases
Oregon cases: 172,206 (816 new cases)
Oregon deaths: 2,449 (3 new deaths)
120
(Jan. 1)
7-day
average
90
new
cases
7 ways to help limit its spread: 1. Wash hands often with soap
and water for at least 20 seconds. 2. Avoid touching your face.
3. Avoid close contact with sick people. 4. Stay home. 5. In public,
stay 6 feet from others and wear a cloth face covering or mask.
6. Cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or cough into your elbow.
7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Jefferson County cases: 2,051 (3 new cases)
Jefferson County deaths: 32 (zero new deaths)
130
(Dec. 4)
What is COVID-19? It’s an infection caused by a new coronavirus.
Symptoms (including fever, coughing and shortness of breath)
can be severe. While some cases are mild, the disease can be fatal.
Deschutes County cases: 6,877 (84 new cases)
Deschutes County deaths: 72 (zero new deaths)
110
100
(Nov. 27)
90
80
74 new cases
50
new
cases
(April 10)
70
60
(Feb. 17)
COVID-19 patients hospitalized at
St. Charles Bend on Wednesday: 12 (3 in ICU)
47 new cases
50
(Nov. 14)
28 new cases
(July 16)
40
*State data
unavailable
for Jan. 31
31 new cases
(Oct. 31)
16 new cases
30
(Sept. 19)
9 new cases
ONLINE
BULLETIN
GRAPHIC
129 new cases
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
www.bendbulletin.com
SOURCES: OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY,
DESCHUTES COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
New COVID-19 cases per day
20
(May 20)
1st case
10
(March 11)
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Klamath Project will receive
historically low water allocation
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
KLAMATH FALLS — The U.S. Bu-
reau of Reclamation delivered a gut-
punch to Klamath Project irrigators
Wednesday, announcing a historically
low water allocation as the basin strug-
gles with extreme drought.
Farms and ranches in the project will
receive an initial allocation of 33,000 acre
feet — the lowest total since the shut-
down of 2001 and barely 8% of historical
demand. That is dramatically lower than
the bureau’s original estimate of 130,000
acre feet based on hydrological condi-
tions at the beginning of March. Since
then, snowpack in the Klamath Basin
has dropped to 72% of normal for the
water year dating back to Oct. 1, and pre-
cipitation is just 67% of normal.
The Klamath Project provides irri-
gation for 230,000 acres of farmland in
Southern Oregon and Northern Cali-
fornia.
Camille Touton, deputy commis-
sioner for the Bureau of Reclamation,
said this water year is unlike anything
the project has ever seen.
“We will continue to monitor the hy-
drology and look for opportunities for
operational flexibility, provide assistance
to Klamath Project water users and the
tribes, and keep an open dialogue with
our stakeholders, the states, and across
the federal government to get through
this water year together,” Touton said.
Initial water supplies from Upper
Klamath Lake will be available to re-
charge project canals and provide for
some limited irrigation no earlier than
May 15. Remaining water will be deliv-
ered no earlier than June 1.
The bureau will maintain Upper
Klamath Lake at or above a minimum
elevation of 4,138.3 feet, “whereby ad-
George Plaven/Capital Press file
Water flows from Upper Klamath Lake into the A Canal, part of the Klamath Project. Most
farmers within the project will be allocated far less water than they received last year.
ditional project water may be available,”
according to the bureau. Reclamation
will monitor and adjust available water
on at least a semi-monthly basis.
Officials also announced $15 million
in immediate aid to the Klamath Project
through the Klamath Project Drought
Relief Agency, which provides funding
for drought relief programs including
groundwater pumping and land idling.
An additional $3 million will go
to the tribes for ecosystem activities
aimed at protecting endangered fish, as
well as monitoring groundwater levels
throughout the basin.
Under reclamation’s temporary oper-
ations plan for the Klamath Project in
2021, it recognizes there is not enough
water available to meet competing de-
mands for farms and fish.
The plan provides guidelines for rec-
lamation to adaptively manage proj-
ect operations this spring to maintain
certain levels of water in Upper Klam-
ath Lake for Lost River and shortnose
Dry conditions triple number of fires in Oregon
Associated Press
SALEM — The Oregon Department
of Forestry said Tuesday the number of
small wildfires has tripled this spring
partly because of dry conditions across
Oregon.
The agency said Tuesday it’s already
doused 70 fires, almost half of which
resulted from escaped backyard debris
burn piles .
In a normal season, usually 24 fires
occur by April 13. In response, Salem
issued a ban on all open burning within
the city, including recreational fires.
The Dallas Fire Department was
called to a grass fire Tuesday threaten-
ing homes in an area where a resident
had been burning over a couple days,
Dallas Fire Department officials said.
With the high winds and dry condi-
tions, the fire grew beyond the control
of the property owner, officials said. No
homes were burned and no one was in-
jured, fire officials said.
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prior approval.
Lottery results can now be found on
the second page of Sports.
suckers, as well as preserve options for
flushing flows downstream for salmon
in the lower Klamath River.
Reclamation says it will maintain
certain river flows for salmon through
September .
While the news was widely expected,
it is no less devastating to the basin’s
agricultural community. The Klamath
Water Users Association and irrigation
districts held an operations meeting
Wednesday morning to discuss their
plans going forward with patrons who
stand to see their fields run dry.
In a letter sent April 8 to patrons, the
association said it is well aware of the
impact such a low allocation will have
on the business community.
“We will continue pursuing strategies
to correct fundamental problems in the
basin, advocate for common sense, and
begin work with responsible parties so
that we are not in this impossible and
unnatural situation again in the future,”
the letter reads.
Introducing Atiyeh Bros. rug cleaning and sales services to the Bend
area. We’ll be in the Bend area on October 9 to pick up your rugs,
clean them in our state-of-the-art facility, and deliver them back to
your home. If you’re ready for a new rug, our experts will work with
you to select options to try at home before you commit!
CCB#3590
With limited rain since March and
dry conditions expected for the next
week, fire danger is only expected to in-
crease, officials said.
In many places, the spring window
to burn may have already passed, Ore-
gon Department of Forestry Fire Pre-
vention Coordinator Tom Fields said.
“The window of opportunity to
clean up around homes and dispose of
woody debris in a safe manner is nar-
rowing each year,” he said.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Cyclist suffers life-threatening
injuries near Redmond
A 41-year-old cyclist from Wash-
ington was struck by a vehicle and
severely injured near Redmond early
Wednesday. At around 3:30 a.m., Jer-
emy James was riding south on U.S.
Highway 97 near Quarry Avenue
when he was hit by a vehicle driven by
Lance Russ, 19, of Redmond, accord-
ing to Oregon State Police.
James was in a travel lane at the
time he was struck, according to Ore-
gon State Police Capt. Tim Fox.
“This area of the highway is not
lighted, and James was wearing dark
colored clothing, headphones and
had no visible lights,” Fox said.
James was transported by helicopter
to St. Charles Bend, where he was be-
ing treated for life-threatening injuries.
Russ was taken by ground ambulance
to St. Charles Redmond with injuries
not considered to be life threatening.
Fox said an investigation is ongoing.
Virtual candidate forums
to be hosted for May election
The City Club of Central Oregon
and the League of Women Voters of
Deschutes County will be hosting a
series of seven virtual candidate fo-
rums for positions on the May ballot.
Forums will be held for candidates
running for board seats for the Sisters,
Redmond and Bend-La Pine school
districts; Deschutes Public Library
District; Bend Park & Recreation Dis-
trict; and Redmond Area Park & Rec-
reation District.
The election will be held May 18.
This year, forums will offer English
to Spanish translation for the school
board races in Redmond and Bend.
Organizers encourage the
public to send questions for the
candidates at least one week prior to
the event to info@cityclubco.org or
info@lwvdeschutes.org. The forums
can be streamed on the League of
Women Voters of Deschutes County
or City Club YouTube channels.
All forums will be at 5:30 p.m. on
the following dates:
April 15: Sisters School District
April 22: Bend-La Pine Schools
April 24: Deschutes Public Library District
April 27: Bend Park & Recreation District
May 3: Redmond School District, board
positions No. 3 and No, 4
• May 4: Redmond School District, board
positions No. 1 and No. 2
• May 6: Redmond Area Park & Recreation
District board
•
•
•
•
•
— Bulletin staff reports