An image from the road camera at the Highways 6 and 8 junction showing 111 degrees on Monday, June 28. Most of Oregon grappled with an intense heatwave that broke high temperature records on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before finally cooling off to the upper 90s. In Hillsboro, the closest[Read More…]
Environment
Officials urge caution with fire, outdoor activities as region enters heat wave
Washington County Fire Crews prepare to return home on Friday, June 25. Photo: OSFM With record-breaking temperatures on the way this weekend, local health officials are urging Oregonians to take caution, and fire officials are urging people to not be the cause of a wildfire. The Portland office of the[Read More…]
‘Excessive Heat Watch’ issued in advance of weekend triple-digit temperatures
The sun near Mountaindale on July 31, 2017. The sun is widely considered a significant contributing factor to high temperatures. Photo: Chas Hundley It’s going to be hot this weekend, so hot, in fact, that meteorologists are expecting the possibility that June temperature records could be broken, and that the[Read More…]
Fire season, burn ban begins as triple-digit temperatures loom
The Banks Fire District #13 headquarters in Banks on March 3, 2019. Photo: Chas Hundley A county-wide burn ban went into effect Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., putting a halt to all backyard, agricultural, slash, and other debris burning. Still allowed are small outdoor cooking or warming fires and barbecue[Read More…]
Willamette Falls Locks Authority created by Oregon Legislature to explore reopening locks
The Willamette Falls on August 6, 2018. Photo: Chas Hundley The Oregon House of Representatives passed a bill with a 54-3 vote creating the Willamette Falls Locks Authority, a public corporation establishing ownership, management, and oversight so the waterfall’s locks could someday reopen for the first time since 2011. House[Read More…]
Mendenhall Creek culvert replacement in Buxton postponed to 2022
West Fork Dairy Creek in Buxton on April 23, 2021, a few feet from where Mendenhall Creek joins the larger Dairy Creek tributary. Photo: Chas Hundley Construction projects may abound in Buxton and Manning this summer, but area residents can plan for one less after a project under Highway 26[Read More…]
After 2020 wildfires, seedling challenges remain
Burned trees at the Powerline Fire near Hagg Lake. Photo: FGF&R The Oregon Department of Forestry says demand is unprecedented for forest tree seedlings following the 2020 Oregon wildfires, creating difficulties for reforestation with as many as 140 million seedlings needed to replace what the fires consumed. Kyle Abraham, chief[Read More…]
Legislature looking to the future of fueling vehicles
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley A bill that appears to be fast-tracked by a recommendation from the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment would allow public utilities to charge consumers for the cost of building new electric vehicle charging stations and supplying them with power. Senate[Read More…]
ODF urges landowners to prevent beetle infestation in storm-downed Douglas Fir
A Douglas-fir tree struck by lightning in Columbia County. Photo: Oregon Department of Forestry The Oregon Department of Forestry says the 2021 ice storm, which brought down many large-diameter Douglas-firs across the state created the potential for an outbreak of the native Douglas-fir beetle. Christine Buhl, a Department of Forestry[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: In response to Oregon Hunters Association migratory habitat letter
Don Backman is a resident of Bay City. I read with interest the article which you published (“Letter to the Editor: Oregon Hunters Association, Nov. 11″) from Jim Akenson, Senior Conservation Director, Oregon Hunters Association, and Lori McKinnon, President, Coastal Farm & Ranch. They raise a very important point. While[Read More…]