The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department reports wildfires have so far burned about 900 acres of state park land, most of it undeveloped forest.  Some parks remain closed due to windstorm damage, or their proximity to active fires.  Twenty-four parks have been closed since September 7, when rare, severe wind events caused wildfires to quickly sweep the landscape.  OPRD Director Lisa Sumpton says given the scope and severity of the fires, the 900-acre toll was a testament to both luck and extraordinary first responders.  The heavily forested Collier Memorial State Park took the biggest hit, losing some 400 acres of Ponderosa Pines.  OPRD Forester Craig Leech said that although 400 acres is a lot by any estimation, careful fuel reduction and stand improvement slowed the fire spread enough to be contained before major damage occurred.

The Level 1 evacuation advisories for Yale, Cougar, Northwoods and parts of Amboy and Yacolt related to the Big Hollow Fire on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest have been lifted.  The fire 15 miles northwest of Carson was listed as 15% contained on Sunday, and has burned 24,788 acres.  Fire crews were carefully watching the fire in case it backs down towards the Wind River Hwy and are prepared to suppress and hold the fire if it reaches the Highway.  At Government Mineral Springs, fire crews are continuing preparation work on the Trapper Creek Trail for use as a confinement line in the event the fire backs down towards the cabins.  Those cabins remained under Level 3 evacuation notices.  The Type 2 management teams on the fire will be transitioned off it Monday night, to be replaced by two Type 3 teams, one on the east side and one on the west side of the fire.  

The Riverside Fire is now at 20% containment, having burned 137,880 acres.  Incident Commander Alan Sinclair says firefighters continue to make progress in strengthening and expanding containment lines near local communities.  He added they are having daily conversations about getting residents remaining under evacuation orders back into their homes.  Cool, damp weather is expected to moderate fire activity again on Sunday.  Over the weekend firefighters were able to take advantage of improved visibility to fly a helicopter over the northeast side of the fire to conduct an aerial assessment in that area.  

Growth on the Lionshead Fire fourteen miles west of Warm Springs was expected to be minimal Sunday with current weather and fire behavior forecasts.  However, officials say fire behavior will likely increase with the warmer and drier weather in the coming days.  The fire is 198,763 acres in size with containment at 10%.  Resources from the National Guard will be arriving on the fire in the next few days.  These troops, along with additional crews arriving, will allow for more work on the fire to be achieved.  Level 3 “Go!” evacuation notices are still in place for the communities of Detroit, Idanha, and Breitenbush.   Roads and trails near the fire remain closed for public safety. This includes roads and trails on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs lands adjacent to the fire and a 40-mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail between Santiam Pass and Olallie Lake.

PacificSource Community Solutions announced that the Columbia Gorge Coordinated Care Organization received more than $3.4 million dollars from the Oregon Health Authority for quality performance during 2019.  PacificSource Community Solutions has is allocating the money back to the healthcare providers of the CCO and to the Columbia Gorge Health Council, which also has distributed funds to the healthcare network as well as to existing health improvement workgroups.  The OHA uses quality measures to determine how successful CCOs have been at improving care and making quality care accessible.  The Columbia Gorge CCO met its performance targets on 16 of 19 quality measures; 14 of these exceeded the highest-level state benchmark.  Performance on quality measures in the Columbia Gorge CCO was the highest in the state on two early childhood measures: childhood immunizations and developmental screenings.

State and federal agencies are extending the season for the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program on the Columbia and Snake rivers until October 11.  They are also boosting the per-fish reward amounts for the remainder of the 2020 season.  The reward for all eligible northern pikeminnow has increased to $10 per fish – regardless of how many northern pikeminnow an angler catches.  The reward for verified specially-tagged northern pikeminnow will also temporarily increase from $500 to $1,000 per fish.  The program’s goal is to encourage more anglers to participate by harvesting predator-sized northern pikeminnow this fall, which will help protect more young salmon and steelhead from predation next spring.  According to recent data, anglers are catching more northern pikeminnow now than any other time of the season, but fewer people are participating in the program.  For more details on the season extension and reward increases, go to www.pikeminnow.org.

Hood River County was the only one of 6 counties with a confirmed and presumptive case of COVID-19 Thursday and they had just one, pushing the total to 240 with 238 out of isolation and 52 recovered. Wasco County stayed at 230, with 199 recovered. Sherman County has 16 recoveries in 18 cases and Gilliam County has 7 cases with 4 recoveries. The state reported 215 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, but no new deaths. Cases have gone over 30 thousand at 30,060 with deaths remaining at 521. Klickitat County remains at 203 cases, with 194 recovered and Skamania County has 58 recovered out of 60 cases. The state of Washington now has 81,198 confirmed cases and 11 new deaths to reach 2,031.

The Big Hollow Fire gained just over 800 acres Thursday and now stands at 22,973 acres. Crews continue to remove fuels inside the fire line. They are also patrolling areas and containing spot fires in the area. There are now 327 personnel manning the fire, with 8 hand crews, 12 engines, 5 dozers, 1 water tender and 1 helicopter. Structure protection work was completed around Government Mineral Springs cabins. There is still a level three evacuation notice in the Government Mineral Springs Area and level one order in effect north and west of the fire, including Yale, Cougar, Northwoods and parts of Amboy and Yacolt. Area closures include most developed campgrounds, dispersed camping and most forest roads and trails in the SW Gifford Pinchot. The fire is 15% contained.  

The Big Hollow Fire, 15 miles northwest of Carson grew to 22,153 acres Wednesday. Firefighters suppressed a new start in the Trapper Creek Wilderness that could have threatened containment lines. More personnel and equipment have been added, there are now 367 firefighters, with 10 hand crews, 13 engines, 3 dozers and 1 water tender, along with a helicopter and fixed-wing. Crews are continuing the process of consuming fuels inside the control line. Crews burned a control line east of Road 64 and north of Road 201 to stop fire spread east of the Wind River Highway. There is still a level three evacuation in effect for Government Mineral Springs and level one in Yale, Cougar, Northwoods and parts of Amboy and Yacolt. Containment is now at 15%.  

Hood River County reported their first positive COVID-19 case in 5 days Wednesday. That brings the number to 239, with 238 out of isolation and 52 recovered. Wasco County recorded two new cases with an overall total of 230. 199 have recovered. Both Sherman County and Gilliam County had no cases, with Sherman County remaining at 18 cases with 16 recovered and Gilliam County 4 recovered out of 7 cases. The state of Oregon reported 195 new confirmed and presumptive cases and two deaths. Total cases are 29,850 with 521 deaths.                                                                     There were no new cases in Skamania County, 58 of 60 cases have recovered. Klickitat County went up one to 203 cases with 194 recovered. Washington has a total of 80,812 confirmed cases and 2,020 deaths.