A Type II team has taken over management of the 12,050 acre Big Hollow fire fifteen miles northwest of Carson and seven miles southeast of Cougar on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  Fire managers said Friday that Indirect control lines are being constructed with heavy equipment and roads to protect the communities of Cougar, Chelatchie and Yale to the west.  Structure protection is being implemented to protect cabins at Government Mineral Springs and the Carson National Fish Hatchery.  Firefighters are also assessing the risk to structures to the north and east in the fire area.  The Forest Service has issued area closures in the southwest portion of the Gifford Pinchot that include most developed campgrounds, dispersed camping, day-use and wilderness areas, and most forest roads and trails within the closure area.  The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has issued closures for the Siouxon Block and recreation sites within the Merill Lake Conservation Area.    

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden’s office announced on Thursday that the Port of Hood River and Klickitat County have been awarded a $5 million from the Department of Transportation to put toward phase two of the effort to replace the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says the funding from the Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development grant will be used to fund engineering and other supporting studies.  The Port is providing $1.25 million as a match for the grant.  McElwee noted bipartisan support from the Congressional delegations in both Oregon and Washington helped secure the funding.

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area has temporarily closed all recreation areas except for Multnomah Falls, Wyeth Campground, Lower Klickitat, and Lower White Salmon Wild & Scenic Rivers, and the Sandy River Delta due to fire danger.  Motorists can drive the Historic Columbia River Highway from Larch Mountain to Ainsworth, but parking along the highway or visiting sites within that section is prohibited.  Oregon State Parks is temporarily closing parks along the Historic Highway from Larch Mountain to Ainsworth as well as the Angel’s Rest Trailhead and trail and Mount Defiance at Starvation Creek.  All other parks, trails, and campgrounds remain open including Rooster Rock, Dabney, Lewis & Clark, Dalton Point, Mayer, the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail and associated day use areas.  Memaloose, Viento, and Ainsworth Campgrounds remain open.  The closures will remain in effect until conditions improve and will be re-evaluated daily.

As fires rage in much of the Pacific Northwest, the White River Fire in southern Wasco County remains at 70 percent containment.  Incident Commander Noel Livingston said Thursday morning that the fire remains in patrol status, and resources on the scene are keeping an eye on it to make sure the fire stays within its perimeter.  Livingston’s Type 1 management team is now in charge of the Lionshead Fire in Marion County, which continues to actively grow to the west and has joined with the Beachie Creek Fire near Detroit Lake for a combined acreage of about 260,000.  The cities of Mill City, Gates, Lyons, Mehama, Detroit and other areas along Highway 22 have seen significant damage.  Fire managers have now determined that at least 13 new fires were started between Detroit and Mehama from downed powerlines during the peak of Monday’s wind event, and then on Tuesday a large front of wind-driven fire ran through the city of Detroit from the east.  

Both Wasco and Hood River counties had a new COVID-19 case listed in Thursday’s report from the Oregon Health Authority.  Wasco County is now at 224 cases recorded during the pandemic, with 189 listed as recovered using a 30-day standard.  Hood River County remains at 239 positive COVID-19 cases for the pandemic, with 234 listed as out of isolation.  Sherman County is still at 18 total cases, with 16 recovered.  All four of Gilliam County’s COVID-19 cases have recovered.  Statewide, the Oregon Health Authority reported 187 new confirmed or presumed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, moving the statewide total to 28,654.  Three deaths were reported, putting that number at 497.  In Washington, Skamania County remained Thursday at one active COVID-19 case, and is at 60 for the pandemic.  Klickitat County was up by four cases to 202 for the pandemic, with six active cases.  The Washington Department of Health’s last update was on Wednesday. putting the total number of COVID-19 cases for the pandemic at 78,009, with 1,978 deaths.

A White Salmon woman was injured Thursday morning in a single-vehicle accident on Washington Highway 143 east of Bingen.  According to the Washington State Patrol, the car driven by 59-year-old Joy Bartlett was westbound on Highway 14 at milepost 69 at around 8:15 a.m. Thursday.  The vehicle went off the shoulder, struck a rock wall, rolled, and came to rest on its top in the eastbound lane.  The WSP says Bartlett was transported to Skyline Hospital in White Salmon with unspecified injuries.  

The City of Hood River has selected Mark Janek as its new public works director.  Janek has served as director of public works and engineering in Wheeling, Illinois, a city with a population of 40,000, since 2015, and was was director of community development and engineering there for six years prior to that.  He also has 13 years of private sector experience in numerous areas of the Midwest.  He has been a land developer and land-use consultant to private companies, municipalities and land owners.  Janek has a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design from Syracuse University, and a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning and Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley says he and Ron Wyden will visit fire camps in Oregon on Friday.  Merkley said at a press conference today Oregon’s Congressional delegation has requested an emergency declaration from the Trump administration, and are making multiple phone calls to make that happen.  Merkley is hopeful the declaration will be issued by Friday.  He added he will continue pushing for funding for his Wildfire Resiliency Act to increase efforts for thinning of forestlands in the West to make them more fire resistant.

The Big Hollow fire, burning northeast of the Trapper Creek Wilderness on the Mt. Adams Ranger District, is now estimated to be about 12,050 acres in size and growing.  The U.S. Forest Service says Gifford Pinchot National Forest crews are assessing the situation and assisting with evacuations and clearing downed trees from roads.  A Type II fire team has been ordered to take over management of the fire.  The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is temporarily closing areas to public access.  This includes developed campgrounds, dispersed camping, day use areas, wilderness areas, and most forest roads and trails within the closure area.  The forest has also enacted a forest-wide ban on campfires.  This ban applies to all campfires, including those inside and outside of developed recreation areas and campgrounds.

A Mt. Hood National Forest spokesperson says firefighters on Wednesday focused their efforts on life and safety concerns as the 120,000-acre Riverside Fire moved an additional four miles down the Clackamas River corridor towards the communities of Estacada and Springwater.   Numerous crews worked overnight to continue point protection efforts on homes and infrastructure in the area and along Highway 211.    As of early Thursday morning, firefighters estimated the fire remained approximately two air miles from the community of Estacada, where a Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation order remains in place.  Fire managers today are assessing locations to stop forward growth of the fire, looking to take advantage of forecasted lighter winds during the afternoon to conduct air operations.  But they caution changing wind directions throughout the day could spur additional fire growth in multiple directions.