Construction is set to begin this week on water infrastructure upgrades along Spring Street and North Main Avenue in White Salmon. It’s the start of the North Main Booster Pump Station Project, designed to improve both everyday water service and emergency fire flow capacity for residents in the North Main/Simmons Road pressure zone. The project is being funded by a $2,406,034.44 Public Works Board Loan as well as $177,500 in American Rescue Plan Act funding that was allocated by the White Salmon City Council. City officials say the project addresses a long-standing deficiency in reservoir storage capacity that limits reliable water supply and fire protection in parts of the city. The new booster pump station will restore and improve service to this zone by connecting it to the Spring Street Reservoir, which has sufficient capacity to meet current and future needs. The public should expect traffic impacts and potential detours in the construction area, especially as work moves westward. A detour map is available online at whitesalmonwa.gov.
Category: Uncategorized
Burdoin Fire Evacuation Levels Lowered, Contaiment 39%
Updated at 10:45 a.m. on 7/27/25
Containment of the 11,289 acre Burdoin Fire was advanced to 39% on Sunday.
Along Highway 14, crews continue to patrol and monitor for any remaining heat, ensuring perimeter security.
Within the Catherine and Major Creek drainages, crews have plumbed both sides of Catherine Creek and are identifying and mopping up heat toward Major Creek.
Firefighters are using an unmanned aircraft system to locate heat and extinguish hot spots in the Dixon and Silvas Creek drainages, and between Centerville Highway and Oda Knight Road.
Crews are also working to protect several small green islands within the fire footprint.
The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday evening reduced evacuation levels for the Burdoin Fire.
All Level 3 evacuation areas have been decreased to Level 2, all prior Level 2 zones are now Level 1, and prior Level 1 evacuation zones have been removed.
The eastern border of the evacuation zone now extends north from Five-Mile Creek on Highway 14 to the northeast corner at the intersection of Red Tail Road and Schilling Road.
All roads are now open for local traffic only.
Parts of Highway 14 are reopened, but the section between the eastside of Bingen and Courtney Road will remain closed due to rock fall danger in the area of Mile Marker 69.
To the north, the 53-acre Snyder Creek Fire is now at 68% containment, with hotshot crews working with aviation support to secure fireline around the southeast corner of the fire.
All evacuation levels for this fire have been downgraded with no Level 3 evacuations remaining.
Burdoin Fire Lines Hold Up In Windy Conditions Thursday; More Of The Same Expected
Lines around the Burdoin Fire held against gusty winds on Thursday, and they will receive the same test today.
Complex Incident Management Team Northwest 13 fire behavior analyst Dean Warner says conditions today will again promote active fire behavior.
Team 13 meteorologist Matthew Dehr says on the positive side the west winds do bring in cooler air from west side of the Northwest, lowering temperatures and increasing humidity.
Containment of the fire remains at 13% with the size at 11,249 acres.
Operations Section Chief Jesse Stone says crews are working to stop fire movement within the unburned “fingers” around Catherine and Major creeks, Lyle-Snowden Road, Canyon Road, and a “horseshoe” area of the east end of the fire.
Numerous roads in the area of the fire remain closed due to trees, rocks, and other debris. Among the closures: Highway 14 from Bingen to Lyle…Old Highway 8…Centerville Road…Canyon Road…Courtney Road…and Lyle-Snowden Road.
Highway 142 between Highway 14 and Highway 97 is now open, but drivers should use extreme caution when traveling near the fire area.
There are currently 846 personnel assigned to the fire, with 86 engines, seven dozers, eighteen hand crews, and five helicopters dedicated to the fire.
On the 52-acre Snyder Creek Fire to the north…Team Northwest 13 officials say crews continue to make good progress on building direct fire lines.
Containment of that fire is also 13%.
A group of Klickitat County emergency agencies will hold a community meeting on fire response and recovery has been scheduled for 6 p.m. this evening at The Dalles High School Auditorium.
There will be a disaster assistance center on-site.
Those who can’t attend in person can view the meeting online through the Klickitat County Emergency Management Facebook page.
Avangrid Sings Agreement With Google To Power Data Centers
Energy company Avangrid has signed an agreement with Google to provide more than 100 megawatts of energy from its Leaning Juniper IIB wind farm in Gilliam County to power Google data centers in The Dalles. Avangrid says it will significantly upgrade its facility with modern components. Once completed, Leaning Juniper IIB is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 31,000 U.S. homes annually. The Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District will deliver the power from Leaning Juniper IIB to Google’s nearby data centers in The Dalles. Northern Wasco PUD General Manager Roger Kline said the deal advances the utility’s regional clean energy capacity. Avangrid says the project represents a nearly $200 million investment, and construction will support 150 jobs. It also says the project is expected to generate about $20 million in taxes over its lifetime. This includes an Oregon Strategic Investment Program agreement with Gilliam County that will deliver Local Improvement Payments to the county totaling $2.8 million over the next decade.
New Items Can Be Accepted For Recycling
Implementation of the Recycling Modernization Act passed by the Oregon Legislature four years ago is underway, and it is expanding what you can put into your recycling bin. Jim Winterbottom of Waste Connections outlines some of what can now be accepted for recycling, including plastic tubs used to contain products like yogurt and cottage cheese, garden pots, buckets, and wax coated milk cartons and gravy containers. Winterbottom notes much of what has been added are items that had been pushed out of the recycling stream in recent years, but he says that’s a good thing, allowing people to produce less curbside garbage, and there will be more education and outreach on proper disposal and where the material is processed. Details on acceptable recyclables are available at hoodrivergarbage.com and thedallesdisposal.com.
WAGAP Permanently Closing Second Hand Rose
Washington Gorge Action Programs has decided to permanently close its Second Hand Rose thrift store in Bingen. It has been closed for a few months since remodeling of WAGAP’s Bingen office began. WAGAP Executive Director Jennifer Pauletto says grants that helped keep the thrift store open have been sharply reduced. Pauletto says they do plan to maintain a “closet” with clothes and other items for those in need at their Bingen office. That is similar to what WAGAP has at its Stevenson and Goldendale locations.
Butte Creek Fire At 30% Containment
Winds are a concern on the Butte Creek Fire about one-and-a-half miles west of Simnasho on the Warm Springs Reservation. It is at 30% containment and has burned 2,066 acres in steep and rugged terrain. An update from Northwest Incident Management Team 3 says warmer temperatures, lower humidities, and winds gusting to 25 miles per hour are expected. Crews continue patrolling for and extinguishing areas of heat that have the potential to threaten containment lines. To better secure the eastern perimeter around Beaver Creek, firefighters will conduct strategic burning operations when conditions are conducive to safely doing so.
Cram Fire At 77% Containment
The Cram Fire east and northeast of Madras is at 77% containment. There were some areas of heat detected in the southeast portion of the fire Wednesday, well within the perimeter of the 95,736 acre footprint. Firefighters continue to patrol and mop-up to further secure containment lines. With hot temperatures and strong winds forecast today, unburned green islands within the fire perimeter may produce smoke and isolated tree torching could occur. Work is ongoing to restore soil stability and vegetative cover in areas impacted by suppression-related activities.
Expected High Winds To Test Lines On Burdoin Fire
Complex Incident Management Team Northwest 13 says containment of the 11,160 acre Burdoin Fire has moved up to 13%, as crews prepare for a critical day with conditions similar to when the fire started last Friday afternoon.
Team 13 meteorologist Matthew Dehr expects sustained winds of 20 miles per hour and gusts to 35 to test firelines. He adds the one thing working in fire crews’ favor today is relative humidity bottoming out at around 25%, short of red flag criteria.
Fire Behavior Analyst Dean Warner says it adds up to a critical day in the firefighting effort, with the fire currently cornered, but the high winds will test their lines.
Jesse Stone with Team 13 Field Operations says they’ve made good progress in closing the final gaps in lines around the fire perimeter. He adds everything looked good on the south side of the fire along Highway 14, and the line from Catherine Creek to Major Creek has been completed.
Tactical firing operations on Wednesday closed the final gaps in lines around the fire perimeter, but officials emphasize it will take time to fully contain the fire. Active burning, including isolated torching, is still taking place in many areas of the fire. Due to terrain and fuels in some areas of the fire, extensive work remains to reach a point where the threat of fire escaping its boundaries is significantly reduced.
Klickitat County Emergency Management announced this morning that Highway 142 has been reopened, but emergency personnel will still be working in the area. Motorists are asked not to stop on the road, and if fire activity changes it could be closed again at any time. Highway 14 remains closed between Bingen and Lyle, as does Old Highway 8, and the Centerville Highway from Highway 14 to Schilling Road.
There are currently 846 personnel assigned to the fire, with 86 engines, seven dozers, eighteen hand crews, and five helicopters dedicated to the fire.
Team Northwest 13 has also assumed command of the 52-acre Snyder Canyon Fire that started yesterday near Klickitat. Klickitat County Emergency Management reports there are still some Level 3, 2 and 1 evacuation advisories in the vicinity of that fire. Maps are available on the Klickitat County Emergency Management’s Facebook page. Dehr noted winds are not forecast to be as strong at the Snyder Creek Fire location, sustained at ten miles per hour with gusts to 20.
Naramore Named New MCCAC Director
The Mid-Columbia Community Action Council has selected Leslie Naramore as the agency’s Executive Director. Naramore has been the agency’s Interim Executive Director since Kenny LaPoint stepped down from the position in February of this year. MCCAC Board Chair Joan Bird says Naramore led the organization through transition, prioritizing support of staff while ensuring uninterrupted programming to the community, while also leading the agency’s response to unexpected needs, including during severe winter weather and in the aftermath of the Rowena Fire. Naramore has eleven years of professional experience in local community action and non-profit management, including more than seven years serving as the Executive Director of MCCAC’s counterpart in Klickitat and Skamania Counties, Washington Gorge Action Programs. Mid-Columbia Community Action serves Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties.