Containment of the Newell Road Fire is now listed at 20 percent, as crews continue to make progress on the 56,143 acre blaze in eastern Klickitat County. Dave Robertson of Northwest Washington Interagency Management Team 8 says strong winds Monday afternoon and evening led to activity in the northwest corner of the fire, but crews during the night were able to make good progress. Robertson says there was very little fire activity in other locations on Monday, with crews mopping up a couple of flare-ups in the southwest corner. He added today’s weather forecast is favorable for continued progress. Klickitat County Emergency Management this morning dropped the evacuation advisory for Roosevelt from Level 2 to Level 1, while all other evacuation levels remain the same. Detailed evacuation area maps are available at the Klickitat County Emergency Management Facebook page. Highway 14 is closed between Highway 97 and Interstate 82 due to the fire. A community town hall meeting on the fire will take place this evening at 6 p.m. at Goldendale Middle School. The meeting can also be accessed online through the Newell Road Fire Facebook page.
WS Council Sends Fire Authority To Voters
The White Salmon City Council voted 4-1 to advance a proposed West Klickitat Regional Fire Authority made up of the City and Fire District 3 to voters in November. The decision came after a trio of White Salmon firefighters testified they felt the process that developed the RFA plan had not truly brought all stakeholders together and should not yet go to the ballot box. But councilors who had been a part of the committee to develop the proposal pushed back on that assertion, noting hours of meetings to put the RFA together and adding they did not intend for it to address every detail, putting that in the hands of the RFA board if it is formed. Current White Salmon fire chief Bill Hunsaker also didn’t believe the City could wait until next August for a vote, noting the White Salmon Fire Department has been operating on “a shoestring for years.” Under the RFA plan, White Salmon residents would be asked to approve a property tax levy of 76 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. Patty Fink was the only Councilor to vote no, saying she believes the City needs to fund fire operations better, but the process still needed more work.
HRV Parks & Rec Gets State Grant For Missing Indian Creek Trail Link
Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District will receive a $5.98 million state grant to purchase about ten acres of property and complete the missing link on the Indian Creek Trail. The district purchased an option to buy what is commonly known as the Campbell property located on Brookside Drive between Providence Brookside Manor and Broken Tee Drive. District executive director Mark Hickox says the grant will allow them to complete the link from Barrett Drive to downtown Hood River, noting this will actually be constructed by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Hickox says they won’t have a timeline for the project until they have discussions with ODOT at the start of the state’s fiscal year starts in October.
TD Council Talks About Nuisance Crimes
The Dalles City Council discussed the subject of nuisance crimes at length during their Monday night meeting. Mayor Rich Mays says they discussed a number of different possible steps to take to deal with issues that affect personal safety in public spaces; downtown business operations; sidewalk, alley, and street accessibility; increasing reports of trespass and nuisances on private property; and litter, junk, and shopping cart proliferation throughout the city. Installation of a long-discussed public 24-hour bathroom facility called the “Portland Loo” received a good portion of the discussion, and Mays says Councilors asked staff to examine it further. Dealing with abandoned shopping carts in the community was also a focal point.
HR Council Looks At Time Limit For Parking
Hood River City Councilors have asked municipal staff to bring back an ordinance prohibiting parking on the public right-of-way or on public property for over one week without moving the vehicle at least two blocks. Councilors wrestled with the subject of finding an appropriate length of time and distance. City Attorney Dan Kearns reiterated the purpose of the ordinance will be to give police officers a tool to begin conversations that they don’t have now. There was a suggestion of a permit program for residents, but Councilors were reticent to move in that direction.
HR Police Seize Suspected Fentanyl During Traffic Stop
The Hood River Police Department made a seizure of suspected fentanyl during a traffic stop over the weekend. The HRPD says an officer conducted a vehicle stop for a minor infraction on Saturday morning, and confirmed it had been stolen the previous day in The Dalles. Seized during the incident were two plastic bindles containing suspected fentanyl, a plastic bindle with suspected methamphetamine, a large amount of cash, and various drug paraphernalia. The driver and passenger were arrested and lodged at NORCOR on various charges. Later Saturday, Hood River police officers arrested another man after a traffic stop when the found a GLOCK 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number under one of the vehicle’s seat. The officers took the suspect into custody without incident.
HRCSD Tabs Newton As Interim Superintendent
The Hood River County School District Board formally approved appointing Bill Newton to serve as the district’s interim superintendent at a special meeting on Monday. Newton will hold the position for the 2023-24 school year. He takes over for Rich Polkinghorn, who resigned to take the superintendent’s job in the White Salmon Valley School District. Newton has served as the district’s curriculum and instruction executive director for since the 2019-20 school year. The district had formally announced his selection late last week. He was principal at Westside Elementary from 2012 to 2018, and prior to that worked 14 years in Salem-Keizer Public Schools. The district will begin a formal process to hire a permanent superintendent in October.
Klickitat PUD Outlines Work During Fire
Klickitat PUD staff has been in the field inspecting lines within the area of the Newell Road Fire, putting out burning poles and replacing damaged equipment. The main focus is ensuring customers in or near impacted areas have power. As of Monday morning, the PUD reported only five customers out of power for a very short amount of time. PUD crews are on site to support firefighting efforts by de-energizing lines when necessary and re-energizing them as soon as possible. Additionally, staff prewired generators at water and wastewater treatment facilities near the fire area to ensure continuity of these essential services during this emergency. To ensure the safety of KPUD staff, we shut down the renewable natural gas facility when the fire was at its worst around the Roosevelt landfill. Thanks to firefighting efforts, the threat to the facility was reduced and it was brought back online within 6 hours. Customers are encouraged to immediately contact Klickitat PUD at 800-548-8357.
Newell Road Fire At 51,694 Acres
The size of the Newell Road fire in eastern Klickitat County remains listed at 51,694 acres today, as Type 2 Northwest Incident Management Team 8 took over command of the firefighting efforts Monday. Dave Robertson with Team 8 Operations says they will be tested by high winds Monday, but he adds they feel like they are in a pretty good place to continue catching this fire. The most active area of the fire on Sunday was in the northwest corner, and that’s where crews are concentrating efforts. Robertson says there is little activity on the south and east flanks, while crews are watching the Rock Creek area to ensure the fire doesn’t go over the drainage and cause problems in the Pleasant Valley area. Klickitat County Emergency Management says the towns of Bickleton and Cleveland, and the southwest portion of the fire in lower Goodnoe Station area were all placed under Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders. Level 2 “Get Set” and Level 1 “Be Ready” advisories are in place west of Rock Creek. Emergency Management Director Jeff King says several structures have been lost in the fire, including at least one home. But County Commissioner Jacob Anderson noted that when he flew over the fire area on Sunday, he was impressed by the number of structures saved. Detailed evacuation area maps are available at klickitatcounty.org on the emergency management page, or at the Klickitat County Emergency Management Facebook page, while a Newell Road Fire Facebook page has been established. Highway 14 is closed between Highway 97 and Interstate 82 due to the fire. A community town hall meeting on the fire with officials from the Incident Command Management Team, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue, the American Red Cross, Washington 14th District State Representative Gina Mosbrucker, and other fire officials will take place Tuesday evening at six at Goldendale Middle School.
Simnasho Fire 40% Containment
Containment of the Simnasho Fire in timber and grassland on the Warm Springs Reservation five miles west of Simnasho and two miles east of Highway 26 was increased to 40% Monday. The fire that started on Friday remains at 1,249 acres in size. According to Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Fire Management…the west, north, and eastern flanks remained solid, while crews worked throughout Sunday to maintain line on the south flank, with the main area of concern along the Warm Springs River. Focus will remain on the southern flank and continuing to watch for spot fires, with a goal to keep the fire east of Highway 26, south of Highway 9, west of Road 450, and north of the Warm Springs River. There are no evacuations or road closures at this time.