The Washington County Sheriff's Office said that a Level 2 ("BE SET") evacuation had been issued for anyone living on SW Stepien Road near Hagg Lake after a wildfire sparked in the area.
The city of Banks said that Portland General Electric had restored power for customers in the Arbor Village subdivision, and that crews were working to restore power to the rest of their customers in Banks city limits.
While most of Banks had originally been slated to avoid an intentional power shutoff, residents in the city are without power anyway following what PGE described as a downed tree on a power line. A small brush fire on the western edge of town was extinguished with the quick action of neighbors, Bank
As power is shut off for rural communities just outside Banks over wildfire concerns, Portland General Electric has established a community resource center at Jim's Market in Banks
Power will be shut off in an effort to reduce wildfire risk in ten areas across PGE's service territory starting Friday. In Gales Creek, power will be cut sometime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday, and may be restored starting Saturday evening.
Portland General Electric said that the likelihood of intentional power shutoffs—known as a Public Safety Power Shutoff or PSPS—is high in ten areas in their service territory, including Buxton, Manning, Timber, and areas surrounding Banks in the next 24 to 48 hours. WOEC customers in the county may
“These conditions are the worst so far for 2022. Dangerous conditions will start Friday morning, peak Friday night, and remain on Saturday,” Oregon Department of Forestry officials said. A Fire Weather Watch begins Friday, and fire danger will rise to Extreme in the Tillamook Forest and surrounding
Local voters will have the chance to decide this November if a two-year moratorium within the Banks city limits should be placed on the manufacture of psilocybin products and the opening of mental health clinics that administer psilocybin to patients.
The deadline to run for city office in Banks closes at 1 p.m. Wednesday, August 24. Four positions are open this year; the position of mayor and three council seats.
Betsy Johnson’s months-long campaign to make it on the November ballot culminated Tuesday with volunteers stacking 17 boxes of signature sheets in a set of wire cage shelves at the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office.
