The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce and a number of community partners have completed a Historic Walking Tour Brochure.  The Historic Walking Tour Brochure focuses on The Dalles as a historic hub for trade and travel.  Guests can take a self-guided tour of the Historic Downtown The Dalles area and learn history about its historic buildings.  The brochure features nine historic trails.  The Historic Landmarks Commission developed an app that is a digital self-guided tour of the historic landmarks that can be accessed on a handheld device or a smart phone.  The project was created through a $3500 grant from the Oregon Community Fund and a matching grant from the Chamber.  Historic Walking Tour brochures are available at The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce office.

North Central Public Health District says thirty cases of COVID-19 were reported Sunday among residents and staff at Flagstone Senior Living in The Dalles.  District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell said in a statement that most of the cases are mild or asymptomatic, and no one has had to be hospitalized.  Tests were given to 119 residents and staff late last week and results came back Sunday from the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory.  The district says all positive cases, and identified family members and close contacts have been notified.  McDonell indicated Flagstone administration responded immediately to the initial positive case, rapidly completed testing of all residents and staff, and has increased cleaning schedules, enhanced usage of personal protective equipment, and initiated other measures to reduce the risk of further transmission.  Under Oregoj Health Authority guidelines, everyone at Flagstone who has tested negative will be re-tested on a weekly basis until the facility has gone without a positive case for two consecutive weeks.  McDonell said outbreaks at long term care facilities do not affect school metrics that determine when schools can return to in-person learning.    

Columbia Gorge Community College is re-opening to the public this week.  CGCC President Dr. Marta Yera-Cronin said in a school newsletter that areas such as the Bookstore, The Hook Café, Library, Business Office, and Student Services will be available to students.  Members of the public who come to the college on official college business will also be welcome on both The Dalles and Hood River campuses.  Yera-Cronin emphasized this is a partial reopening.   Specific hours for each area that will be accessible can be found at cgcc.edu.  Yera-Cronin recommended checking their hours each time you plan to visit, as hours could shift based on need.  Masks (or face shields) will be required everywhere on campus, and social distancing guidelines will be adhered to strictly.  

Industrial Fire Precaution Levels for Oregon Department of Forestry lands in Hood River and Wasco counties were reduced to Level 3 Monday morning.  That allows industrial operations to resume, but operators must follow restrictions including suspension of most activities between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. and conducting a firewatch following daily operations.  ODF The Dalles Unit Wildland Fire Supervisor Kiel Nairns says some rain over the weekend was welcome, but it was not a fire season-ending event.  A regulated-use closure remains in effect for activities such as mowing of dry grass, chainsaw use, and open fire restrictions.  The closure also requires those traveling on forest roads to carry a shovel and a fire extinguisher, or one gallon of water.  Visit www.odfcentraloregon.com for full details.  The public is asked to be aware of any actions which could cause a wildfire.

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.