Skamania County residents will no longer be allowed to set small debris fires starting Thursday.  The ban includes residents who have already received self-issued permits for burning this year.   The county says those permits will be “null and void” as of Thursday.  Fire officials across the state are bracing for a difficult wildfire season as Washington enters the summer in drought conditions.   Public agencies across the region are announcing burn bans to reduce the risk of human-caused fires.  Permits for small debris fires will be available in Skamania County after October, weather permitting.

North Wasco County School District 21 schools will release students early at noon today due to the extreme heat. There will be no afternoon kindergarten at Dry Hollow Elementary School.

The initial choice of the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections board to become the jail’s new administrator has withdrawn.  Last week, NORCOR officials said they had offered the job to Michael Cantrell, an experienced juvenile justice system program director from Nebraska, and made that public.  But Hood River County Commissioner and NORCOR board member Ron Rivers said on the Mid-Columbia Today Show on Monday that Cantrell has informed jail administrator Jim Weed he was withdrawing after asking for more money than the board could offer.  Rivers says Weed is now negotiating with another of the three finalists who were interviewed last week.

The Port of The Dalles will be putting the new Columbia Gorge Industrial Center on the former North Chenoweth property into the state’s Certified Industrial Site program.  Port Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the state will send a third party verification team to the site to look at all the possible issues that could be a barrier to development and decided if its ready to be certified as ready to build on.  Klaas says the intent is to have the park completely finished by July 31.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s June water supply outlook report for Oregon contained no surprises coming off a record-low winter snowpack that will lead to significantly low stream flows this summer.  The report shows record low snowpacks for the Hood, Sandy, and Lower Deschutes basins, peaking at its lowest level and earliest date since records began over 30 years ago.  Summer streamflow forecasts for the basins range from 48-to-57 percent of average for June through September.  Forecasted streamflow volumes fall in the lowest tenth of observed streamflows since 1981.  Water managers are being told to expect significant shortages this summer.

Local health officials are reminding people to stay cool and stay hydrated with the current hot temperatures.  They are advising people to find air-conditioned shelter, avoid direct sunlight, wear lightweight light-colored clothing, take cool showers or baths, and do not rely on a fan as your primary cooling device.  Drink more water than usual, don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink more fluids, avoid alcohol or liquids containing high amounts of sugar, and remind others to drink enough water.  Excessive heat causes more deaths than all other weather related events in the country, and heat-related illness can affect anyone at any age.

Ryan Ward held Liberty hitless for six innings while Hood River Valley took advantage of Falcon defensive miscues on the way to a 2-0 win in the OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires Class 5A Baseball Championship at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer on Saturday, giving the Eagles their first state title in 25 years.  HRV’s first run came in the second inning, when two Liberty infielders lost Chase Lariza’s pop fly in the sun, allowing Patrick Harvey to score.  The Eagles tallied the second run in the fourth, when back to back errors by Liberty’s middle infield brought home Riley Van Hoose.  While that was going on, Ward stifled the Falcon bats, striking out ten and allowing only two hits, both in the seventh inning.  He needed only 75 pitches for the complete game win.  The biggest defensive play came in the second inning, after Andrew White was hit by a Ward pitch.  Cody Rice hit a sharp ground ball up the middle, but Eagle second baseman Kam Walker made a diving stop and then flipped the ball with his glove to shortstop Skyler Hunter for the force at second, and Hunter made a quick turn for the double play.  HRV had previously won state baseball titles in various classifications in 1980, 1986, 1988, and 1990.

It will be a busy weekend for high school graduations around the Gorge.  Hood River Valley sends off its senior class Friday evening at 7:30 at Henderson Stadium, while ceremonies at The Dalles High School begin at 10:30 Saturday morning on Amaton Field.  Also on Saturday…graduation ceremonies take place at Sherman and Columbia at 11 a.m., at South Wasco at 1 p.m., and at Horizon Christian, Stevenson, Lyle, and Glenwood at 2 p.m.  Dufur will hold its high school graduation Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

Wasco County Commissioners heard from those for and against the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife purchasing the 10,000 acre Limmeroth Ranch property in the central portion of the county along the Deschutes River.  The County provided a letter of support for the sale two years ago, with ODFW wanting to make the purchase with federal and private funds to protect fish and wildlife habitat, but some nearby land owners are in opposition citing detrimental impact to farm and ranch operations and worries about the impact of increased public use of the land.  County Commission Chair Scott Hege points out the County can only make a recommendation to ODFW, but it won’t have a final say on the sale.  Hege notes the options the County has range from doing nothing at all to rescinding its 2013 letter.