The City of The Dalles has received $200,000 from Business Oregon to distribute COVID-19 Emergency Business Assistance Grants in Wasco County.  The City has provided $150,000 and Wasco County $50,000 to match the grant funds.  Grants will be disbursed on a first come, first-served basis with $300,000 in funding available to businesses located within The Dalles and $100,000 in funding available to businesses in Wasco County outside of The Dalles city limits.   Eligible applicants are small businesses and non-profits with 25 or fewer employees that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic between March and August of 2020.  Businesses that have received federal emergency assistance under the federal CARES Act, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance Program or other federal emergency pandemic assistance funding may be eligible and are encouraged to apply.  Applications and a full list of eligibility requirements can be found at the City of The Dalles website.  Wasco County Economic Development Commission staff at MCEDD will begin accepting applications on Wednesday.

The containment level for the 16,356 acre White River Fire has been moved up to 40%.  Fire officials reported Wednesday night that the fire perimeter continues to hold and looks good while firefighters manage hotspots within the Tuesday night burn out area.  Incident Commander Trainee Randy Johnson said this morning progress has been made on all portions of the fire.  In the canyon, the Redmond Hotshots were able to complete fire line down to the White River.  Johnson says crews are also doing mop-up where they can.  Johnson added as roads are reopened they are asking people to be careful and watch for fire crews and apparatus working in the area.

As the Labor Day weekend approaches, health officials continue to emphasize the need to wear face coverings and social distancing.  Hood River County Health Department Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg says outdoors is still best for small gatherings.  He also said in a Facebook posting while the state’s current guidelines puts a maximum of ten people for indoor gatherings, smaller is still better, preferably five or less.  Van Tilburg emphasized social situations are leading to the COVID-19 cases seen in the community.

Oregon State University Extension in Wasco and Hood River counties are unable to hold their usual food preservation classes during the pandemic, but on-line learning opportunities are available.  Lauren Kraemer of OSU Extension points out a lot of people currently have the products of their garden ready to be preserved to enjoy through the winter, but it’s important they follow the right steps.  Kraemer says they have a number of on-line options for people to learn how to preserve foods safely.  Resources are available through the extension.oregonstate.edu website by searching for food preservation.  Also, OSU Extension’s statewide hotline is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1-800-354-7319 to answer food preservation questions.  And the OSU Extension Service Food Preservation Facebook page is monitored for questions, and live sessions take place on Mondays at 10 a.m.

Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill says progress on the portion of the White River Fire above Pine Hollow has led to a reduction in evacuation levels.  Most notably Pine Grove has been reduced from Level 3 to Level 2 “Get Set.”  All residences on the east side of Endersby and Kelly Springs roads to Highway 197, along with the area from Woodcock Road to Driver Road to White River Crossing have been lowered to Level 1 “Get Ready.”  Sportsman’s Park remains at Level 1.  Level 1 advisories for Pine Hollow, Wamic, Maupin, and the east side of Highway 197 have been lifted.  Detailed evacuation advisory information is available on the Wasco County Sheriff’s Facebook page.  White River Fire officials report burn out operations in the Bear Springs area went well Tuesday night.  Incident Commander Noel Livingston said during an operational update this morning that they were able to create a fire line they can hold, and mop up will take place there today.  He said today are working on lines dropping down into the White River Canyon, where the fire has been holding for the last few days.  Livingston said Highway 216 has been reopened, but he emphasized that there is still a lot of fire traffic and the possibility of smoke in the area, so motorists should be careful and do not stop in the fire area.

After seeing a downward trend in case numbers for a number of weeks, North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell told Wasco County Commissioners Wednesday that the County is now at 212 total COVID-19 cases for the pandemic, up five from numbers released on Tuesday.  McDonell told the Commission investigation into the new cases is continuing, but one is from a workplace, one is a close contact, and the others at this point are sporadic in nature.  The cases figure to bump up the County’s case rate for the current week out of the standard for being able to open schools to in-person learning, and McDonell points out in small population counties it doesn’t take much for that to happen.  Last week’s positive test rate in Wasco County was down under one percent, and the case rate was down to four per 100,000 residents, but that will go up for this current week.

Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott says she is asking the Oregon Health Authority to expand the number of symptoms that would allow them to call a contact a presumptive COVID-19 case.  Elliott says it would make easier to link COVID-19 cases together, noting they see cases with a link through common contact, but that person does not meet the criteria for presumptive case, so they cannot be linked together.  Elliott said she is still awaiting an answer from the state.  Hood River County currently has 13 active COVID-19 cases, but they also doing contact checking for 30 to 40 others.

The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday reported one new positive COVID-19 cases in Sherman County.  Even with that case, Sherman County’s active cases remains at four, as the North Central Public Health District added a 14th case as recovered.  The OHA reported no new cases for Hood River County in its Wednesday report, leaving the pandemic total at 236, with the County saying 223 are out of isolation, leaving 13 active cases.  North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell reported Wednesday morning that Wasco County had 212 total cases, up five from the previous day, and the County lists 158 as recovered using a 30-day standard.  The OHA reported 140 new and presumptive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, moving the state’s pandemic total to 27,075.   Three deaths that occurred between Saturday and Monday were listed on Wednesday, moving that number to 468.  In Washington, Klickitat County on Wednesday added one new case to move to 194 total cases for the pandemic, but active cases dropped by three to nine.  Skamania County’s total case count remains at 59, with no active cases.  Statewide, Tuesday’s update from the Washington Department of Health reported 304 new cases to move the statewide total of COVID-19 cases to 74,939, with 16 deaths to put that total at 1,931.

Recreation agencies are once again reminding people to continue to practice social distancing when on public lands this Labor Day weekend.  Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Manager Lynn Burditt says the message will be similar to the previous holiday weekends during the pandemic: practice social distancing, avoid overcrowding, wear face coverings, and be respectful of local communities.  Burditt says they will also be reminding recreationalists to avoid closed areas because emergency services are stretched during the fire season, and that most areas in the Gorge are under a burn ban.

People looking to visit Multnomah Falls will need to reserve their spot online before arriving.  The U.S. Forest Service implemented a reservation system last week through recreation.gov.  Reservations are currently required in order to sustain operations, minimize crowds, and ensure staff and visitor safety.  To provide for the protection of public health and safety and prevent the spread of COVID-19, face coverings and social distancing is required while visiting Multnomah Falls Recreation Area and the Historic Lodge.  The Benson Bridge, the trail to the top of the falls, and the loop to Wahkeena Falls remain closed.  Visitors should park only in designated areas.  For information on how to safely visit Gorge recreation sites this Labor Day weekend, visit ReadySetGOrge.com and see weekend tips from the Forest Service.