Hood River County Commissioners have approved a drought declaration.  Commissioners heard from irrigation district officials and water experts during a special meeting at the Rockford Fire Hall, all testifying to the extreme drought conditions already underway and expected this summer.  Commission Chair Ron Rivers says the declaration will now go to Governor Kate Brown for her approval, as she has already done for nearly 20 counties in the eastern and central portions of the state.  A declaration by Brown would open up relief options for area farm operators.  John Buckley of East Fork Irrigation District, which unlike the county’s other major irrigation districts does not have a reservoir for water storage, said they have asked their users to cut back on water use by 25 percent.  Some Cascade Locks officials had asked the County to exempt their city from the declaration, but County officials decided against that, noting the state will only issue drought declarations for entire counties.  Wasco County recently received a federal drought declaration, which will apply to Hood River County as a contiguous county.