NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Fireworks are now in season
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
COVID-19 has ruined
a lot of summer plans, but
Hermiston residents can still
celebrate the Fourth of July
with a bang.
While
some
cities,
including Pendleton, have
canceled fi reworks shows
and parades for the year, the
city of Hermiston will still
put on a display of pyro-
technics from the Hermis-
ton Butte after the sun goes
down.
The event will be mod-
ifi ed from previous years.
There will be no live music,
food trucks or games set up
in Butte Park ahead of the
show, the usual pool party
has been canceled. But peo-
ple are encouraged to watch
the fi reworks from their
yards or vehicles or some-
one else where they can stay
apart from other viewers.
The Stanfi eld Fourth
of July Facebook page
announced in May that orga-
nizers were canceling the
parade and activities, but
would still hold their usual
fi reworks display at dusk on
the north side of town.
Lesley Phillips, who runs
the Black Cat fi reworks
stand in the parking lot of
Hermiston’s Grocery Out-
let, said she expects to see
some additional interest in
personal fi reworks this year.
“Our volume’s always
been good, but I think
between Landing Days in
Umatilla being canceled,
and the Fourth of July being
more of a stay at home deal,
I think we might see a slight
increase,” she said.
While COVID-19 has
impacted trading around the
world, Phillips said so far
she hasn’t seen too many
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A Black Cat fi reworks stand outside of Grocery Outlet in
Hermiston displays its wares on June 23.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Fireworks explode over the marina in Umatilla on Thursday, June 4, 2020 in celebration of the
Umatilla High School class of 2020.
problems with the supply
chain for fi reworks, and she
expects to be able to get
more if she starts running
low.
Like all shopping experi-
ences, fi reworks stands are
slightly modifi ed this year.
Phillips said everyone must
come in one side and out the
other, customers will wait
6 feet apart to check out
and only 10 people will be
allowed in the tent at a time.
“The layout is a little dif-
ferent this year because of
that factor, but I think that
might actually be good,
because I will get more time
to talk to customers about
safety,” she said.
Phillips tries to work with
customers on making sure
they use fi reworks they take
home safely. She said any-
one setting them off in front
of their house should water
down their lawn and bushes
beforehand, and keep a
bucket of water handy to
dispose of used fi reworks.
She suggested getting a
cinder block with a hollow
space in the middle to keep
the fi reworks from spinning
off in a different direction
than expected.
The Oregon Fire Mar-
shal’s offi ce has set June 23
through July 6 as the fi re-
works retail season this year.
State fi re marshal Jim
Walker reminded Orego-
nians in a news release that
fi reworks are banned at
national parks and forests,
Bureau of Land Manage-
ment lands, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife properties, state
beaches, state parks and
state campgrounds.
“In Oregon, consumer
legal fi reworks can only
be purchased from permit-
ted fi reworks retailers and
stands,” he said. “State reg-
ulations limit where those
fi reworks may be used.
Starting in July, risks for
wildfi re in many parts of
Oregon will be high. Fire-
works can also start struc-
tural fi res that threaten lives
and property, as we have
seen in past years.”
Fireworks that fl y into the
air, explode or travel more
than 12 feet horizontally
are banned in Oregon. That
includes fi reworks known
as bottle rockets, fi recrack-
ers and Roman candles. If
police seize illegal fi reworks
they can charge the per-
son in possession of them
with a misdemeanor, which
could result in a fi ne of up to
$2,500 per offense.
According to the fi re
marshal’s offi ce, there were
1,173 reported fi reworks-re-
lated fi res in Oregon in the
past fi ve years, causing more
than $4.9 million in damage,
one death and 36 injuries.
“All of us share the respon-
sibility to use only Oregon
consumer legal fi reworks and
use them carefully,” Walker
said. “Please also consider
your neighbors and their pets
before deciding on when and
where you choose to light
legal fi reworks.”
Umatilla County’s COVID-19
case count passes 300
In Umatilla County,
10.2% of tests have
come back positive,
putting the county in
second place behind
Union County’s 20.8%
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Umatilla County con-
tinues to see a surge in
COVID-19 cases, announc-
ing 32 new confi rmed cases
and 21 presumptive cases
on June 23, bringing the
county’s total to 313 con-
fi rmed cases so far, with 171
recovered.
The county had 174 con-
fi rmed cases one week prior,
on June 16.
In an interview with the
East Oregonian last week,
Umatilla County Public
Health Director Joe Fiu-
mara said the county’s con-
tact tracing efforts have
traced many cases back
to people going to work
despite knowingly experi-
encing minor symptoms of
COVID-19. He urged peo-
ple to stay home from work
if they are sick, rather than
expose their co-workers.
The Oregon Health
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St., Hermiston
June 23rd-28th
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“THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY SAD
ANNOUNCEMENT AND ONE
THAT WE HAD HOPED NOT TO
MAKE IN MORROW COUNTY.”
Morrow County reported 36 cases of COVID-19, and
one death, as of June 23
Authority reported an out-
break connected to Lamb
Weston’s Hermiston plant
on June 23, with 37 cases
connected to the plant
through a combination of
workers testing positive
and close contacts of those
workers.
Fiumara also said gradu-
ation parties are showing up
as another source of infec-
tion, but that those cases
have been diffi cult to track
because some people are
refusing to share the names
of family and friends who
attended.
Umatilla County’s per-
centage of tests coming
back positive is higher than
all but one of Oregon’s
counties.
As of June 21, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority’s reporting, 3.5%
of COVID-19 tests in the
state have come back pos-
itive. In Umatilla County,
10.2% of tests have come
back positive, putting the
county in second place
behind Union County’s
20.8% and one spot above
Morrow County’s 9.8%.
Morrow County is also
seeing an increase in cases.
As of June 23, the county
had reported 36 confi rmed
cases. Morrow County also
reported its fi rst death, of
a 53-year-old man with
underlying health condi-
tions who tested positive on
June 12 and died June 18.
“This is an incredibly
sad announcement and one
that we had hoped not to
make in Morrow County,”
the county stated in a news
release. “We encourage
everyone to be respectful as
a family in our community
grieves.”
According to the Cen-
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention, underly-
ing conditions that put peo-
ple at higher risk for severe
COVID-19 complications
include chronic lung dis-
eases, asthma, obesity with
a body mass index of 40 or
higher, diabetes, kidney dis-
ease, liver disease, being a
smoker, and conditions that
cause people to be immuno-
compromised, such as HIV,
bone marrow transplants or
taking immunity-weakening
medications.
People over the age of 65
are also considered at high
risk.
Statewide, on June 23
the Oregon Health Author-
ity reported the state had
reached a total of 7,274
cases and 192 deaths.
Nationally, on June 23
the CDC reported 2.3 mil-
lion cases and more than
120,000 deaths from the
virus.
The Oregon Health
Authority’s advice for
avoiding the spread of
COVID-19 includes min-
imizing nonessential trips
outside the home, stay-
ing 6 feet apart from other
people, washing hands and
sanitizing surfaces fre-
quently, isolating at home
when experiencing symp-
toms and wearing a mask
over your nose and mouth
in public.
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