There will be a full closure of the Hood River/White Salmon Interstate Bridge beginning at 11:00 p.m. on Thursday and continuing through 1:00 a.m. Friday.  Northwest Natural Gas crews will be on the bridge performing inspections of their gas line utility.  This work requires a full height lift of the bridge’s lift span.  Port crews will be on-site to lower the lift span for emergency response vehicle crossings if needed, but all other access will be closed.  Bridge users should seek alternate routes during those hours.

A 25 acre wildfire was discovered late Sunday afternoon on the Clackamas River Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National forest.  The Collawash Fire is burning in grass and brush under a Bonneville Power Administration powerline corridor along Forest Road 63 south of Raab Campground.  A Forest Service spokesperson says multiple engines, water tenders, and hand crews are responding to the incident and making good progress in building a line around the fire. The cause of the wildfire is under investigation.   No closures are currently in place but visitors should use caution driving near the fire area due the presence of firefighters and equipment along roads in the vicinity and the possibility of reduced visibility caused by smoke.

A fire Sunday afternoon on Mott Road in the High Prairie area burned about 86 acres.  Klickitat County Fire District #14 Chief Tim Darland says no structures were lost.  The fire started around 4:30 Sunday afternoon, and was contained by 10:30 p.m.  The Washington Department of Natural Resources had a strike team of five engines along with a tender from High Prairie Fire at the site today to continue to mop up the fire.  Darland indicated the fire was caused by a lawn mower.  Crews from High Prairie, DNR, Lyle, Centerville, Rural 7, Goldendale, The U.S. Forest Service…and Bingen were all involved in the firefighting effort.

Interstate 84 will be closed nights eastbound and westbound at exit 56 west of Hood River the next four nights, but delays may be minimal because the off-ramp leads directly to an on-ramp and a quick return to the highway.  The Oregon Department of Transportation says they closure will be in place Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.  The work is weather-dependent, and unfavorable conditions could change the schedule.  Crews will resurface the bridge over the exit 56 interchange at Viento State Park and repair the bridge deck membrane.

The PacificSource Columbia Gorge Coordinated Care Organization announced that it will receive more than $2.8 million dollars from Quality Pool payments from the Oregon Health Authority for quality performance during 2017.  PacificSource Community Solutions will allocate the money received from OHA back to the care providers for the Columbia Gorge CCO, as well as create funds over which the Columbia Gorge Health Council has decision-making authority.  The pool of funds will be used for initiatives throughout the Columbia Gorge aimed at improving the health of the community.  The Columbia Gorge CCO met performance targets on 15 of 17 quality measures.  Quality measures are used by the OHA to determine how successful CCOs have been at improving care and making quality care accessible.  Performance on clinical measures in the Columbia Gorge CCO was the highest in the state in two areas: follow up care for people who have been hospitalized for mental health conditions and satisfaction with customer service from the health insurer.

A 30-year-old White Salmon motorcyclist was injured in an accident on Saturday on Highway 141 alternate just west of the White Salmon city limits.  According to the Washington State Patrol, Ryan Lawson was southbound on 141 alternate near milepost 6 when a northbound pickup truck driven by a 41-year-old Carson man crossed over the center line.  Lawson made an evasive maneuver and laid the motorcycle down.  The motorcycle eventually came to rest against a tree off the roadway.  The WSP says Lawson was taken to Skyline Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries.  

At their meeting Thursday night, the D-21 School District Board voted to move forward and place a bond measure on the November ballot that would replace all of the District’s Schools. According to D-21 Chief Financial Officer Randy Anderson, the total of $235 million would be spread out over approximately 20 years. In other board news, Kathy Ursprung was re-elected as Board Chair and John Nelson is the Vice Chair. Also, School Board Zone 1 Member Bethany Studebaker moved into Zone 5, which was open. So she was named the Zone 5 Board Member and Zone 1 is now open.  

Fire crews are getting close to 100% containment on the Memaloose Park Fire. Incident Commander Kyle Nairns thinks they will reach that goal by end of shift today. The final mapping shows the fire at 74 acres. A drone was used this morning to survey the fire area and find hot spots. The westbound Memaloose Rest Area reopened this morning after repairs were completed. Memaloose Park is also open to visitors. The fire was human caused and the investigation continues.  

Fire crews made significant progress Sunday mopping up flames and heat inside the perimeter of the Memaloose Park Fire, increasing the containment level to 70%. That work will continue today. Incident Commander Kyle Nairns said the heat and afternoon wind Sunday tested the containment lines, but the lines held and Nairns said they didn’t see any fire activity that concerned them. Lines will be tested again today with afternoon heat and wind. Crews will continue working the next few days until the fire is 100% contained. GPS mapping of the perimeter Sunday showed the fire at 74 acres. Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill lifted all evacuations in the Rowena area, as of 8 this morning. Memaloose State Park is currently closed to new campers entering the campground and the westbound I-84 Memaloose Rest Area will remain closed until repairs can be made to the electrical system that was damaged in the fire. The fire was human caused and is under investigation.  

After working all day Saturday and Saturday night, the 65-acre Memaloose Park Fire was 35% contained as of Sunday morning. Firefighters on Saturday were able to complete a fireline around the perimeter of the fire. Sunday’s work includes mopping up heat and flames inside the fire area. Firefighters systematically grid the fire, digging into the ground to expose burning material in the ground and douse it. Firefighters are supported by a Type 2 Helicopter dropping water on flames. Firefighters from Mosier Fire Department, Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area continue in the effort by providing water tenders, fire engines and firefighters. Brian Reel, Acting Unit Forester for The Dalles says “This is an early season fire, we will be mopping-up 100% so we can focus efforts on future fires as we continue into the heart of the fire season”. Because of the hard work, Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill has changed the Level 2 evacuation notice (get set) to Level 1 (get ready) in the Rowena Dell Area. Highway 30 reopened late Saturday. Memaloose State Park is currently closed to new campers entering the campground. The fire was human caused and is under investigation.