With improvements made in fireline and a reduction in fire behavior, evacuation levels for the Juniper Fire in the Pine Creek Drainage south of Bickleton in Klickitat County have been downgraded.  Klickitat County Emergency Management dropped evacuation levels from Level 3 to Level 1.  The Southeast Washington Type 3 Interagency Team now handling firefighting efforts indicated Monday night the fire is 80 percent contained, and the fire has burned 253 acres, noting there are still hotspots in the fire interior.  Crews completed lining the perimeter of the fire, and continued mopping up the interior.  A demobilization process is underway, and there will be two hand crews and one strike team monitoring the area while that takes place.

The Dalles Public Works Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday for its upgraded Wastewater Treatment Plant, marking completion of the 14 million dollar project.  Public Works Director Dave Anderson says all of the plant’s pumps have been replaced, capacity of the influent pumping station increased from 7.4 million gallons per day to 13.2 million, all of the wastewater screening systems were replaced, and a new anaerobic digester was put in.  He also notes a co-generation system was installed.  Representatives from Mortenson Construction and designers Kennedy Jenks Consulting were also hand for the official opening of the plant.  The Dalles used a progressive design build contract process for the project, which Anderson said was believed to be a first in Oregon, adding it worked very well with the two firms who were signed on for the work.

A motorcyclist died in a one-vehicle accident Sunday morning on Highway 97 about two miles north of Moro.  According to the Oregon State Police, a preliminary investigation found 55-year-old Vanesa Gunther of Junction City was riding her motorcycle southbound on Highway 97 when a wild turkey collided with her after flying into a northbound commercial vehicle.  After being struck by the turkey, Gunther traveled across the northbound lane and collided with a guardrail.  The OSP says Gunther sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.  The northbound lane of Highway 97 was closed for several hours following the crash at about 11:30 Sunday morning.  The OSP was assisted by the Sherman County Sheriff’s Office, North Sherman Fire, Moro Fire and Rescue, and the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

There was very little change in a Monday morning update on the Juniper Fire in the Pine Creek Drainage south of Bickleton in Klickitat County.  The Southeast Washington Type 3 Interagency Team now handling firefighting efforts indicated the fire is 30 percent contained, and the fire has burned 242 acres.  Crews on Sunday worked toward completing 100 feet of containment line around the fire.  In spite of strong wind gusts and low relative humidity, firefighters were able to keep the fire from running up the drainage toward Bickleton.  Crews were looking to finish mop up and containment lines Monday.  The fire started Saturday afternoon, and while Sunday’s update indicated the cause is under investigation, Klickitat County Emergency Management had said that smoke was observed coming from the generator unit of a wind turbine Saturday afternoon, and as fire consumed the turbine melted sections fell to the ground and ignited nearby grass, brush, and juniper.

Klickitat County will cut the ribbon Wednesday on its new Firearms Training Center at Dallesport.  County Commissioner Jim Sizemore says the shooting range has been a number of years in the making, adding it will be available for public use.  The range will provide training facilities for law enforcement agencies around the region.  It’s located just east of the intersection of Highways 14 and 197 in Dallesport.  The grand opening will be Wednesday at 10 a.m.

A 71-year-old Hillsboro man died in a motorcycle accident on Highway 14 in Klickitat County on Thursday afternoon.  According to the Washington State Patrol, Charles Miles Berry was eastbound on his motorcycle on Highway 14 about three miles west of Lyle when the bike went off the roadway and onto the eastbound shoulder.  It traveled on the shoulder about 100 feet before impacting a vertical rock wall.  Berry was pronounced dead at the scene.  The accident occurred at about 2:40 Thursday afternoon.

The pilot was able to walk away when his plane caught fire after landing early Friday morning at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport in Dallesport.  The Airport’s Darren LaCock says the plane had taken off just minutes earlier and had an as yet undetermined issue, so the pilot turned around to land at the airport.  The fire began after landing on the runway.  The pilot was able to walk away uninjured and called 9-1-1.  Dallesport-Murdock Fire Department Chief Rhet Howard says when fire crews arrived just after 7 a.m. the plane was fully engulfed.

The Hood River County Fair will be getting underway on Wednesday in Odell.  Fair Manager Clara Rice says they will be taking entries in the early part of the week, Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  Fair books that list all of the various categories for entries are available online at hoodriverfair.org and at various locations throughout the County.     The Hood River County Fair will open on Wednesday at noon, and continue through next Saturday night.

A pair of Wasco County Commissioners are attending a conference this weekend on reducing the number of people with mental illnesses in jails.  The Stepping Up Initiative is a national effort led by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, the National Association of Counties, and the American Psychiatric Association.  Wasco County Commissioners Steve Kramer and Kathy Schwartz will be attending.  Kramer hopes to be able to speak to decision makers that cut money from the state budget for mental health, adding it is a top priority for him.  The Oregon Psychiatric Physicians Association & Association of Oregon Counties are sponsoring the conference.

The Port of Hood River says the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be closed Monday morning from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. for a maintenance bridge lift.   Bridge users should plan for delays or seek alternate routes during that time.