The Port of Hood River says there will be intermittent single-lane closures on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge on Wednesday from noon to 10:00 p.m. to allow for lift span testing. The closures may cause delays of up to 15 minutes or more depending on traffic conditions. In addition a full bridge closure will occur Wednesday night between 10 p.m. and midnight, lasting about 20 minutes. Another full bridge closure is scheduled for Thursday morning at 5 a.m., lasting approximately one hour. That closure may be extended based on the findings during the lift span testing. Hamilton Construction Co. will be conducting wire rope inspections, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. will be performing lift span testing.
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CGCC Plans Ballot Measure To Reissue Bonds
Columbia Gorge Community College in the November election will be seeking a reissue of the bond it used to purchase and build its Hood River campus and upgrade The Dalles campus in the early 2000s. The reissue would not raise property tax rates in the CGCC district. CGCC Marketing & Communications Director Tom Penberthy says the tax rate for the bond would stay at 27 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, and bring the school $13 million for various facility improvements. If the bond reissue is passed, the college will also receive a $5.5 million matching grant from the state.
City Of The Dalles Holding Local Government Academy
The City of The Dalles is offering another round of its Local Government Academy. It will be held on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6 p.m. from August 27 to September 17. City Clerk Amie Ell says it give participants a chance to learn about all facets of municipal government. There is no charge to participate in the Local Government Academy. To be eligible, you must be a resident of The City of The Dalles, at least 18 years of age, interested in future participation in local government, and available to attend all sessions. Applications are due by Friday, August 9th at 5 p.m. Applications are available online at www.thedalles.com/LGA.
Microwave Tower Fire At 14% Containment
The Microwave Tower Fire five miles west and southwest of Mosier is now at 14% containment. The Great Basin Interagency Incident Management Team and the Oregon Department of Forestry said this morning that further containment is expected as the southern end of the 704-acre fire moves into mop-up. Crews are leveraging local knowledge and experience to enhance the effectiveness of using the railroad tracks as line tie-in feature for the west and east ends of the fire, which would also remove fuels and reduce the risk of fire spread. Crews Thursday are also working to improve dozer line connecting to the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. There are 115 personnel assigned to the fire, up from 43 on Wednesday. The weather forecast predicts cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and lower winds that can provide an opportunity to increase progress. Evacuation levels in place for Wednesday night remain in effect.
Whisky Creek Fire Grows
Cloud cover Wednesday night prevented an infrared mapping flight over the Whisky Creek Fire resulted in no changes in the listed fire size of 288 acres, but officials say it did grow on Wednesday. The fire is burning within the Mt. Hood National Forest’s Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness and moving steadily along the eastern edge up Woolly Horn Ridge and west towards Waucoma Ridge. Crews are preparing containment lines to the southeast from Rainy Lake to Wahtum Lake and continuing to the Pacific Crest Trail about one mile to the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burn area. To the east of the fire, crews are strengthening a containment line along the Gorton Creek Trail and identifying potential contingency lines further east. There is a community meeting on the Whisky Creek Fire at 7 p.m. Thursday evening in the Cascade Locks Marine Park Pavilion, and will also be available on the 2024 Whisky Creek Fire Facebook page.
Severe Goes Southeast Of Lone Rock Fire
Forecast severe weather on Wednesday passed further to the southeast of the 136,377 acre Lone Rock Fire south of Condon, and any gusty, outflow winds from it did not compromise existing containment features. Fire officials say the entire perimeter has some form of fireline around it, with containment listed at 40%. A few areas continue to hold heat, and the small increase in acres burned is the result of fire burning interior to existing control features. Crews were successful in completing firing operations and fireline construction work along Highway 19. Oregon State Fire Marshal’s task forces worked to mop up at least 100 feet away from homes that were protected during the fire’s most intense growth.
Big Horn Fire Expands In Strong Winds
Strong westerly winds Wednesday afternoon expanded the Big Horn Fire in eastern Klickitat County on the southwest corner in the Pine Creek Drainage and then to the east towards the Alderdale area. That led to the size of the fire going into the night increasing by nearly 20,000 acres to 32,886. The Southeast Incident Management Type 3 Team in command of the fire said a significant number of aircraft were utilized to slow progression. Klickitat County Emergency Management officials today placed Roosevelt, West Roosevelt, Bickleton, and Cleveland on Level 2 “Get Set” evacuation advisories, with Level 1 “Get Ready” for north to the Klickitat County/Yakima County line and west to Rock Creek. Highway 14 is closed from Roosevelt to Alderdale Road. Dry weather conditions are expected to continue Thursday, with gusty winds by afternoon. Fire officials say there is now 5% containent on the fire, and confirmed four structures have been damaged, but didn’t have any other details on what kind of buildings they were.
Hood River Council Moves Toward Alternative For Waterfront Stormwater
The Hood River City Council authorized staff to pursue an alternative being put together by Bell Design for phase 3 of the Waterfront stormwater relocation project. Bell Design put together three alternatives after contractor Tetra Tech’s plans were estimated to cost $2.7 million, well over what City officials had planned for. The alternative Councilors opted to pursue moves ahead with providing treatment through bio-retention beds and filtration catchbasins as planned by Tetra Tech on the west and middle outfalls, and provide a similar bio-retention bed on the east outfall, at a cost of $1.369 million. Stoner Bell of Bell Design says they were able to reduce costs by centralizing the system’s operation. More specific design work will now be done before getting approval to go out for a bid process.
TD City Council & Wasco County Commission Talk Google Funds Again
The Wasco County Commission and The Dalles City Council held a second joint session to discuss what to do with some of monies that will come from the Strategic Investment Plan agreement with Google for a pair of new data centers under development. The conversation roamed through various possibilities and a recently done citizen survey that brought ideas from helping schools to dealing with housing issues to economic development, but no real consensus emerged. Mayor Rich Mays said while they don’t know how much money is going to come through the agreement, they probably need to start doing some estimates for planning purposes. The City Council and County Commission will discuss the topic separately, with plans to come back together in the fall to see if they are ready to get into more details.
Larch Creek Fire Investigation Continues
Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill says the investigation into what caused the Larch Creek Fire in southern Wasco County over two weeks ago is continuing. Magill says the fire was determined to be human caused very early in the investigation, but further details are still being verified. The investigation is being led by Oregon Department of Forestry wildfire investigators, with the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service assisting. Magill says this kind of investigation can be tedious, complex, require meticulous attention to detail, and often take a long time to complete. He added his office has been proactive assessing the situation with the Wasco County District Attorney’s office as information has become available. Once the investigation is finished, the Sheriff’s and D.A.’s offices will review the findings to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.