The Oregon Department of Forestry says the Sevenmile Hill Fire is now at 50% containment after burning roughly 100 acres Wednesday evening.  ODF says today firefighters are looking to secure to secure Sevenmile Hill Road and place it in patrol statut.  That will require gridding the fire for hot spots, with significant work in the areas of scrub oak and brush.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office has reduced a Level 3 evacuation advisory in the area of the fire to Level 1.  The Sheriff’s Office announced that those living on Sevenmile Hill Road along Chenoweth Road to the Brownscreek Road intersection to include Oak Hill Drive and McDonald Way can return to their homes, but are encouraged to stay alert in case of a change in weather or fire conditions.  A Level 2 advisory for Brownscreek Road to the 4500 block of Cherry Heights Road was fully lifted.  Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill credited ranchers and landowners in the area for assisting in fire suppression and help in quick containment.  At this time, the cause of the fire is yet to be determined and is under investigation.  Any citizen that has information on the fire is encouraged to call 541-296-4626.  Please continue to stay out of the area to allow crews to continue work.

The White River Fire on the Mount Hood National Forest about eight miles west of Sportsman’s Park is now 450 acres in size.  The U.S. Forest Service says work Wednesday included indirect dozer line along the fire’s east flank between Forest Road 48 and the White River  Winds continue to be a key factor in suppressing the fire, with less favorable weather conditions continuing today.  Communities east of the fire will be smoky.  Given the complexities of this fire, the Mt Hood National Forest has ordered a Type 2 Incident Management Team to take over management of the fire.   Over the next two days the current Type 3 team will transition with the incoming team.  The Wasco County fairgrounds in Tygh Valley will be the Incident Command Post.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 1 Evacuation Notice this afternoon for the Sportsman’s Park and Rock Creek areas.

While the bulk of the attention of public health officials is on COVID-19, the upcoming flu season is on their minds.  Klickitat County Public Health Director Erinn Quinn told the county’s Board of Health that she plans to push out the message to the community to get their flu shots this fall.  Quinn noted one of the hurdles they will have to overcome is a people with what she termed “vaccine hesitancy,” concerned with side effects or other issues around vaccinations.

Klickitat County’s Board of Health received an update on the uptick in the County’s COVID-19 numbers as the result of an outbreak at an agricultural operation in the western part of the County.  County Health Officer Dr. Amy Person says at this point they have not seen any evidence of community spread as a result of that outbreak.  Klickitat County has been waiting for the state of Washington to lift the pause to reapply to move up to Phase 3 of reopening, and Person says it will be important for the County to address the recent increase in cases.  Person noted other counties have been able to demonstrate to the state where COVID-19 stands as a whole in a community removing an outbreak at one location.

The White Salmon City Council approved a framework to use $78,300 of COVID-19 Cares funding.  Mayor Marla Keether says the City has to use the money by the end of October or lose it, and they are budgeting most of it for community relief funds to help residents and businesses that serve customers facing financial hardships as a result of the pandemic.  Two smaller amounts of money are being reserved for city operations impacted by the pandemic and other forms of community support.

The Oregon Health Authority’s Thursday numbers reported one new positive COVID-19 case in both Wasco and Sherman counties.  That moved Wasco County’s total to 205, with the County listing 128 as recovered using a 30-day standard.  Sherman County now has seen 17 total COVID-19 cases…with eight recovered.  No new cases were listed in the Thursday report for Hood River County, which remains at 221 total cases for the pandemic, with the County listing 199 cases as what it terms “released from quarantine” leaving 22 active cases.   Gilliam County remains at four total cases, with two recovered.  The OHA reported 301 new and presumptive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, moving the state’s pandemic total to 24,165.  Four deaths that occurred in the past four days were listed, moving that total to 412.  In Washington, Klickitat County reported five new cases on Wednesday to run its total to 179, 45 of which are active, up two from Tuesday.  Skamania County did not report any new cases in its Thursday update, leaving them at 59, of which 55 are listed as recovered.

North Central Public Health District has been gathering epidemiological data on COVID-19 in Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties breaking down confirmed cases by age group, ethnicity, and other factors.  Now the question is how to use that data to target resources.  District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says workplace environments are a big factor.  McDonell noted the local numbers in many ways are similar to national trends, particularly showing certain groups of people are disproportionally impacted by COVID-19.

Alice Cannon has been named the City of The Dalles’ Interim Community Development Director.  Cannon will be filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Steve Harris, who served in the position for four years.  Cannon has over 25 years of planning and economic development experience in both public and private sectors, .holding positions with a number of different Oregon municipalities.  Cannon is also a Certified Planner through the American Institute of Certified Planners.  Her first day on the job will be Tuesday.

The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office has reduced a Level 3 evacuation advisory in the area of the Sevenmile Hill Fire to Level 1. The Sheriff’s Office announced this morning that those living on Sevenmile Hill Road along Chenoweth Road to the Brownscreek Road intersection to include Oak Hill Drive and McDonald Way can return to their homes, but are encouraged to stay alert in case of a change in weather or fire conditions. A Level 2 advisory for Brownscreek Road to the 4500 block of Cherry Heights Road was fully lifted. Wasco County Emergency Management says containment of a 100-acre wildfire on Sevenmile Hill was estimated to be at 30% by midnight…and crews were working through the night to strengthen fire lines. The Oregon Department of Forestry says the 100-acre wildfire is fully lined…and they were monitoring the fire overnight to ensure there was no rekindling of the fire and the wind did not push embers outside the perimeter. At this time, the cause of the fire is yet to be determined and is under investigation. Any citizen that has information on the fire is encouraged to call 541-296-4626. Please continue to stay out of the area to allow crews to continue work.      

Wasco County’s COVID-19 numbers are starting to show a positive trend.  North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell told the Wasco County Commission that case counts, rates, and positive test rates all dropped for the week ending August 9.  Wasco County had ten positive COVID-19 cases diagnosed that week, a rate of 37 per 100-thousand residents using the state metrics, and a test positivity rate of 3.1%.  That’s progress toward meeting state requirements to open schools, and McDonell told the Commission while there is still a ways to go to meet them, she believes steps people are taking to stop the spread of COVID are working.  McDonell also said that Wasco County has had nine hospitalizations as a result of COVID, but only one recently.