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DESCHUTES COUNTY
PRINEVILLE
Irrigators seek drought declaration
Off-duty
firefighter
rescues
woman
County is experiencing its
driest spring in 127 years
BY MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
Deschutes County is going through
its driest spring since records started
127 years ago. That fact combined with
low levels of water in the Central Ore-
gon reservoirs has prompted irrigators
to seek a drought declaration from the
state.
On Wednesday the Deschutes Ba-
sin Board of Control sent a letter to
the Deschutes County Commission
requesting the drought declaration.
The commissioners will consider the
request when they meet this Wednes-
day. Deschutes County declared a
state of drought last year.
An official declaration of drought,
recognized by the governor, allows
farmers to tap into state and federal
financial assistance programs. The fi-
nancial assistance could help farmers
who aren’t able to plant on all their
acres due to water restrictions.
The Deschutes Basin Board of
Control comprises eight irrigation
districts, including Arnold, Cen-
tral Oregon, Lone Pine, North Unit,
Ochoco, Swalley, Three Sisters and
Tumalo. Collectively they convey wa-
ter to over 150,000 acres of farms and
ranches, as well as local cities, parks,
and schools.
The letter, written by basin board
president Craig Horrell, requests that
county commissioners declare a state
of drought and they, in turn, ask Gov.
Kate Brown to issue an executive order
recognizing the severe drought.
“The DBBC believes County action
and support from the state is needed,”
Horrell stated in the letter. “This may
include assistance from the Oregon
Water Resources Department and
other Oregon executive branch agen-
cies, operating within their statutory
authorities.”
Jared Hopper didn’t
wait for help, rushed
into burning home
See Drought / A4
BY KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
Bend firefighter Jared Hop-
per was off-duty Friday morn-
ing when he saw heavy smoke
billowing out of a house in
Prineville.
A distressed neighbor told
Hopper a disabled woman
lived in the home on
Mariposa Avenue and couldn’t
get out.
Hopper, 28, who has worked
as a Bend Fire & Rescue fire-
fighter and paramedic for the
past three years, didn’t hesitate.
Without waiting for help
or equipment, he ran into the
smoke-filled house and found
the woman, who had a broken
foot in a boot.
Hopper lifted the woman off
her bed and into a wheelchair,
then whisked her out of the
house.
He pushed her across the
street, safely away from her
burning home.
KLAMATH PROJECT
Zero water allocation
pushes farms to the brink
See Rescue / A9
MT. BACHELOR
Ski resort
to build
summit
hiking,
biking trail
BY KYLE SPURR
The Bulletin
See Klamath / A4
See Bachelor / A5
Holly Dillemuth/For the Capital Press
Midland cattle rancher and Klamath Drainage District board member Luther Horsley is preparing for a devastating summer in the Klamath Basin.
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
AND HOLLY DILLEMUTH
Capital Press
K
LAMATH FALLS —
What was already fore-
cast to be a historically
bleak water year in the Klam-
ath Project has quickly be-
come a living nightmare for
farms and ranches fighting
for survival in the drought-
stricken basin.
TODAY’S
WEATHER
“I don’t think there are any of us who are
insulated from this. Everybody is going to feel
the effects, even businesses on Main Street.”
— Ben DuVal, who grows alfalfa hay and raises registered Black
Angus cattle near Tulelake, California
The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation shut down the
Project’s A Canal for the
entire irrigation season May
Variable cloudiness
High 66, Low 44
Page B6
INDEX
12 in response to worsening
conditions — allotting zero
surface water from Upper
Klamath Lake for thirsty
Business/Life
Classifieds
Dear Abby
C1-8
B5
C3
Editorial
Horoscope
Local/State
A8
C3
A2-3
crops and livestock.
It is the first time in more
than a century the A Canal
will deliver no water. Mean-
while, irrigators are left to
wonder how they will pay the
bills as fields turn to dust.
“We know what a zero al-
location is going to mean to
our individual farms and the
community as a whole,” said
Ben DuVal, who grows alfalfa
Lottery
Market Recap
Mon. Comics
B2
B4
C5-6
Obituaries
Puzzles
Sports
A9
C4
B1-3
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Vol. 117, No. 329, 58 pages, 6 sections
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hay and raises registered Black
Angus cattle near Tulelake,
California. “It’s going to mean
a lot of farms go out of busi-
ness.”
DuVal, who is also presi-
dent of the Klamath Water
Users Association, said he
has already had that difficult
conversation around his own
kitchen table.
Mt. Bachelor ski resort is
moving forward with plans to
build a new 5.5-mile hiking
and mountain biking trail that
will loop from the mountain’s
base to the summit.
The ski resort’s proposal
also includes plans to create
better access for a snow cat to
groom more ski runs and the
addition of two snowmaking
guns. There is no timeline yet
for the snow cat trail and guns,
but construction is expected
to begin on the hiking loop
this summer, said John Mc-
Leod, Mt. Bachelor president
and general manager. The trail
is expected to take about two
years to complete, he said.
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