WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
Record-breaking heat expected
Thursday, Friday
expected to
break records in
Hermiston
Where to go to beat the heat
By GEORGE PLAVEN
STAFF WRITER
By GEORGE PLAVEN
STAFF WRITER
Break out the fans and
crank up the air condition-
ing — this week is gonna
be a scorcher across the Co-
lumbia Basin.
Temperatures are ex-
pected to hover above 100
degrees and may set re-
cord highs as a massive
heat wave grips the Pacifi c
Northwest. Jim Smith, me-
teorologist with the Nation-
al Weather Service in Pend-
leton, said the two hottest
days will be Thursday and
Friday before temperatures
gradually begin to drop
back down into the high 90s
over the weekend.
Hermiston is primed to
break the record on both
Thursday and Friday. The
forecast for Hermiston calls
for 105 degrees Thursday
and 107 degrees Friday,
beating the record highs of
103 degrees and 105 de-
grees, respectively.
That intense heat has
certainly caught the atten-
tion of local health and
recreation offi cials, who
are urging precaution when
heading outdoors.
Dr. John Hitzman, Uma-
tilla County public health
offi cer, said kids and the
elderly are the most vulner-
able to heat-related injuries.
He emphasized the need to
stay hydrated in such swel-
tering conditions, and no,
alcohol and caffeine drinks
do not count.
“Dehydration is the
biggest danger people run
into in the hot weather,”
Hitzman said. “They may
not realize how dehydrated
they’re getting until it’s too
late.”
When people become
dehydrated, Hitzman said
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Children play in the Columbia River near McNary Beach on
Monday in Umatilla.
they may feel dizzy, light-
headed and eventually be-
come delirious or pass out.
It is important to monitor
sweat losses closely, he
said, and drink plenty of
appropriate fl uids to avoid a
potentially life-threatening
situation.
“Some people actually
die from heat-related inju-
ries,” Hitzman said. “When
their body stops sweating,
they’re already starting to
get into some pretty big
trouble.”
Hitzman also recom-
mended people wear plen-
ty of sunscreen and light-
weight clothing if they
plan to go outside, and take
frequent breaks from direct
sun exposure. Otherwise,
Hitzman said people should
stay inside especially during
the heat of the afternoon if
they don’t have to go out.
“There’s obviously a
whole lot of common sense
that has to take place,” he
said.
On Monday, Oregon
OSHA reminded employers
in labor-intensive indus-
tries such as construction
and agriculture to monitor
their employees closely for
any signs of trouble. Penny
Wolf-McCormick, health
enforcement manager for
Oregon OSHA, said those
workers need to be provid-
ed with drinking water and
given shaded areas to take
breaks in order to prevent
heat exhaustion.
“Employers and work-
ers in Oregon need to be
especially aware of the dan-
gers of working high heat,”
Wolf-McCormick said in
a statement. “That’s be-
cause workers here tend to
be used to working in mild
weather and are frequently
not acclimated to this type
of heat.”
If someone is suffering
from heat exhaustion, the
American Red Cross rec-
ommends moving the per-
son to a cooler location,
loosening or removing
clothing, applying cool, wet
towels and providing fl uids
such as a sports drink to re-
store both water and elec-
trolytes. If the condition
worsens or the person loses
consciousness, call 9-1-1
immediately.
Tom Roberts, Umatilla
County emergency man-
ager, said his offi ce will
be sponsoring a number of
misting fans at next week’s
Umatilla County Fair to
keep the crowds cool. As
for this week’s triple-dig-
it onslaught, he is urging
people to heed the warnings
and protect themselves.
“We’re not taking the
heat lightly,” Roberts said.
“Extreme heat causes a lot
of death each year. By sim-
ply taking some precautions
when the temperatures start
to rise, you can mitigate a
lot of that.”
Looking for places to escape this
week’s stifl ing heat wave? Here are a
few suggestions:
• Hit the pool
Public swimming pools are open in
Pendleton, Hermiston, Milton-Free-
water, Boardman, Heppner and Helix.
However, just because you are sur-
rounded by water doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t still be hydrating.
“It’s important to monitor sweat
losses and maintain hydration, even at
the pool,” said John Hitzman, Umatilla
County public health offi cer.
So make sure to keep drinking plen-
ty of fl uids. And, of course, wear lots of
sunscreen to protect your skin.
• Cool out in the Columbia
Some popular recreation areas around
the Columbia River near Hermiston
and Umatilla include McNary Beach,
Hat Rock State Park and Sand Station,
where visitors can put in their boats or
go for a dip. But swimming in a river
isn’t the same as swimming in a pool,
and certain precautions need to be taken.
“It’s always unpredictable,” said
Gina Baltrusch, spokeswoman for the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Walla
Walla. “Just because the water is calm at
the surface doesn’t mean it’s not moving
at a good fl ow.”
In other words, be aware of undercur-
rents and fl oating hazards, such as logs
and debris. Water temperatures in the
Columbia also remain low year-round,
and hypothermia is a possibility no mat-
ter how scorching the air temperature.
Lifeguards are not on duty at the riv-
er, even within designated swimming
areas.
Boaters should wear life jackets, Bal-
trusch said, and be aware of fl uctuating
water levels when anchoring or tying up
their boats.
• Go camping
The Umatilla National Forest offers
plenty of lakes and campsites around the
Blue Mountains to cool down, including
Jubilee Lake near Tollgate, Olive Lake
in the North Fork John Day Ranger Dis-
trict and Penland Lake in the Heppner
Ranger District.
“I imagine a lot of our water recre-
Stanfi eld plant shuts down for repairs
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
The 3D Idapro dehy-
dration plant in Stanfi eld
briefl y halted operations
Monday to make minor re-
pairs to the facility.
They expect to resume
working by Tuesday, but
would stop again on Tues-
day afternoon and evening
to accommodate the near-
by National Night Out pic-
nic.
The temporary pause
on factory activities is a
result of weeks’ worth of
complaints from residents
about odors from the facto-
ry and, most recently, a fi re
at the plant on Wednesday.
Kevin Andreson, Ida-
pro’s platform leader for
non-grains, said in a press
release the company is
also taking some steps to
mitigate the odors.
“On Monday, we are
installing a mobile odor
control system that is de-
signed to neutralize smells
from the plant,” he said.
“While not perfect, we are
hopeful that this tempo-
rary measure will help to
reduce ongoing odors.”
Andreson said the com-
pany is in the process of
building a new fi ltration
system that will be in-
stalled in November.
He also said the com-
pany has changed the way
they purchase and handle
raw potato products to
reduce the smell coming
from those materials.
“We want to be a good
neighbor for this commu-
nity,” he said. “This situ-
ation is clearly frustrating
to everyone, and we are
doing everything we can
to resolve it so that Stan-
fi eld can continue to be a
great place to live.”
Stanfi eld residents have
been complaining about
the smell for weeks to Or-
egon’s Department of En-
vironmental Quality and,
most recently, are con-
cerned about an explosion
that caused the factory’s
bag house to catch fi re.
The fi re injured one em-
ployee.
Andreson said the em-
ployee needed a short hos-
pital visit for his minor
burns but has since been
released.
A spokesman for Idapro
said the initial smell was
caused when the plant had
a fi re in January, which
burned some of the facto-
ry’s air purifi cation equip-
ment.
Several weeks ago, rep-
resentatives from Oregon’s
DEQ said the company had
responded quickly to their
requests for answers about
the plant and that they were
working on a solution.
At a Stanfi eld city coun-
cil meeting two weeks
ago, citizens showed up in
droves to protest the facto-
ry’s continued operations.
Council members direct-
ed Stanfi eld City Manager
Blair Larsen to begin fi n-
ing the factory and seek a
court order to shut the fac-
tory down.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A man pushes a boat away from the shore
of Lake Wallula on the Columbia River on
Monday at McNary Beach in Umatilla.
ation campgrounds will be receiving a
lot of use,” said forest spokesman Darcy
Weseman.
A few reminders for the public —
fi re danger has been bumped up to ex-
treme in the forest, and Phase B public
use restrictions are in effect, meaning
campfi res are allowed only in developed
recreation sites. The restrictions also
prohibit chainsaw use, off-road vehicle
travel and limit smoking to cleared areas
or enclosed buildings and vehicles.
• See a movie or visit a museum.
Sometimes the best answer for the
cooling off is to stay inside and fi nd
some air conditioning. Cinephiles have
two choices for movie theaters in Uma-
tilla County — Hermiston Cinema or
the Wildhorse Cineplex at Wildhorse
Resort & Casino.
Nothing good playing? How about
visiting one of the area’s fi ne museums?
Here’s a few recommendations:
Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, 47106
Wildhorse Blvd., Mission. Learn about
the history and traditions of the Uma-
tilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes
through interactive exhibits and special
events
SAGE Center, 101 Olson Road,
Boardman. Highlights agriculture and
energy around the Port of Morrow and
Eastern Oregon.
Umatilla County Historical Society,
108 S.W. Frazer Ave., Pendleton. Pho-
tographs, books, exhibits and genealogy
information available to explore Uma-
tilla County’s history.
Children’s Museum of Eastern Ore-
gon, 400 S. Main St., Pendleton. Bring
your child to learn and explore through
hands-on play.
Survey seeks input
from Echo residents
The city of Echo wants
to receive input from its
residents.
A survey is available
with questions ranging
from information about
city-maintained
streets
and dealing with junk cars
and debris to thoughts
about recreational facil-
ities and housing needs.
Residents are asked to
fi ll out the form and then
drop it off at a locked box
at Echo City Hall.
The survey can be
anonymous. When return-
ing the form, people can
take an item from a bas-
ket, which includes local
soaps, sunscreen, fl ash-
lights and garden gloves.
Also, those who fi ll out
a raffl e ticket will be en-
tered to win a $50 gift
certifi cate from Kopacz
Nursery.
The survey is avail-
able at www.echo-oregon.
com by clicking on “Au-
gust Edition” of the Echo
Newsletter. For more in-
formation, call 541-376-
8411.
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August 21
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